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Lakesight acquires machine vision specialist Chromasens

May 22, 2017

Chromasens has a core expertise in linescan technology, with about 60 employees and sales of about €10 million.

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Lakesight Technologies Holdings (Unterschleißheim, Germany), a portfolio company of Ambienta (Milan, Italy), has acquired Chromasens (Konstanz, Germany), a machine vision company. Lakesight had previously acquired machine vision companies Tattile (2012; Brescia, Italy) and Mikrotron (2015; Unterschleißheim, Germany).

Chromasens has a core expertise in linescan technology, with about 60 employees, primarily in R&D, and sales of about €10 million. The company was established in 2004, as a result of a management buyout from Ocè Group led by the current managing directors Markus Schnitzlein and Martin Hund. Both managers will continue in their positions.

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Chromasens’ acquisition provides Lakesight with a complementary portfolio of linescan machine vision cameras and access to 3D and hyperspectral technologies. In addition, Chromasens will strengthen the innovation capabilities of Lakesight and contribute a portfolio of blue chip OEM customers. As a result of the acquisition of Chromasens, Lakesight has pro-forma sales of about €40 million.

According to Lakesight, the machine vision market is extremely fragmented, and the company aims to consolidate synergic players that can share sales channels, management, resources, and growth strategies. Mauro Roversi, Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Ambienta, commented: “The acquisition of Chromasens is a further step towards the creation of a global leading platform in the machine vision sector, which represents a pillar in the technological revolution of Industry 4.0, with relevant scale, global reach ,and a diversified product portfolio.”

Ambienta is a European private equity fund operating with offices in Milan, Düsseldorf, and London, focused on industrial growth, investing in companies driven by environmental trends. It has funds under management of over €500 million.

Source: Ambienta

About the Author

Conard Holton | Editor at Large

Conard Holton has 25 years of science and technology editing and writing experience. He was formerly a staff member and consultant for government agencies such as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and engineering companies such as Bechtel. He joined Laser Focus World in 1997 as senior editor, becoming editor in chief of WDM Solutions, which he founded in 1999. In 2003 he joined Vision Systems Design as editor in chief, while continuing as contributing editor at Laser Focus World. Conard became editor in chief of Laser Focus World in August 2011, a role in which he served through August 2018. He then served as Editor at Large for Laser Focus World and Co-Chair of the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar from August 2018 through January 2022. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, with additional studies at the Colorado School of Mines and Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.