Vention's Disruptive Industrial Automation Approach Boosts Engineering Confidence in 2023
Empowering more manufacturers to jump-start and scale their automation journey
Driven by global demand for its Manufacturing Automation Platform, Vention registered a record performance. With robust net revenue growth, ground-breaking product announcements, and a significant increase in its presence in Europe and North America, Vention enters the new year with bolstered confidence.
"Vention's mission to democratize industrial automation has never been more relevant. With labor shortage, salary inflation, and reshoring of production, manufacturers are looking for new, innovative solutions to automate their factory floor," said Etienne Lacroix, CEO and Co-Founder. "Over the past years, Vention has helped more than 3,000 manufacturers automate their shop floor."
Customer Automation Journey Highlights
Demand for horizontal and accessible automation solutions has propelled Vention to a record year in which they achieved another year of 2x booking growth. Driven by many external trends like rising labor costs, labor shortages and companies looking to re-shore manufacturing, Vention grew its active customer base by more than 900 new companies and grew its automation partner revenue by 2.9x.
"What makes Vention incredible is not only the quality of work they provide but the adaptability that their team has to fit what we as the customer are looking for, which is a rare thing" - Chas Newman, Production Manager, Compass Coffee
"Their customer service goes above and beyond. The amount of time and energy that is put into our project is extraordinary. Vention is a great company to work with on any project" - Chris Ensign, American Air Filter Company
"We wanted to introduce automation to combat our lack of personnel but that normally would require expensive 3rd-party programming and expertise. That simply isn't the case with Vention." - Santo Fanta, Co-Owner, Sager Food Products
Manufacturing Automation Platform
With more than eight significant product releases, Vention announced new groundbreaking software, hardware, and applications in 2022.
New MachineLogic™ features were released to raise the ceiling of what can be programmed in a code-free environment. Some of the key features included robot-path visualization, simultaneous motion, multi-controller programming, and lambda functions.
"MachineLogic is key to our mission of democratizing industrial automation, and subscribers can expect a series of additional announcements in 2023," said Etienne Lacroix, CEO and Co-Founder. "We are only scratching the surface of the possible user experiences when you combine industrial automation hardware and engineering software.
MachineCloud™, the first-of-its-kind software for assisted deployment of industrial automation, was launched during Demo Day 2022. This new addition to Vention's Manufacturing Automation Platform enables software-assisted deployment of automated equipment directly from the cloud to the factory floor with step-by-step guidance.
"I see this as an invaluable tool and resource for our business. MachineCloud allows me to remotely program additional SKUs for the operator, all while the machine remains online. Removing this downtime makes our production incredibly efficient," said Cory Conroy, Manufacturing Engineer
Combining speed and simplicity for high-performance palletizing, Vention launched a new application, the industrial palletizer, with robotics by FANUC. Requiring less technical integration and operational expertise than ever before, this turn-key solution helps overcome labor shortages and production efficiency shortfalls.
Vention also elevated its collaborative applications with the new telescopic lift column. Increasing the reach of robot cells without the need for additional support structures, the column connects directly to the MachineMotion controller using a single cable enabling true plug-and-play functionality.
With these releases, Vention is pioneering what's possible for manufacturers around the world who are seeking easy-to-use, flexible and robust industrial automation solutions.
Gaining Industry Recognition
Vention has strengthened its alliances with both automation and robotic partners this year.
It has welcomed 50 new partners to its automation network including Groupe MCA (France), Gimic (Sweden), Mid Atlantic Machinery (USA), CIMTEC Automation (USA), and Dominion Automation and Cross Automation (USA). Vention has also added multiple robots to its manufacturing automation platform from major robot companies including Universal Robots, FANUC, and Doosan Robotics.
In 2022, Vention gained recognition as an industry leader for its great business model, bold innovation, and incredibly rapid revenue growth of 964% from 2018 to 2021. Vention's notable growth was awarded multiple recognitions this year:
Team True North: Canada's Top-Performing Tech Companies - COMMUNITECH - June 2022
Best Workplaces in Manufacturing - Great Place to Work - July 2022
Canada's Top Growing Companies - Globe and Mail - September 2022
Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures Award - Waterstone Human Capital- November 2022
Deloitte Technology Fast 50 - Deloitte - November 2022
International Expansion
With an increasing demand for Vention's automated solutions in North America and Europe, Vention opened two new offices in 2022.
Already serving hundreds of clients in Europe since 2020, Vention opened a European headquarter and distribution center in Berlin, Germany in Q1. Global clients operating on the Vention platform are benefiting from a one-stop shop for all their manufacturing automation needs on both sides of the Atlantic. Vention also grew its North American footprint with a new office in Boston, Massachusetts. This expansion provided an opportunity to enhance Vention's support and tap into Boston's robotic and software engineering talent.
"Vention's manufacturing automation platform has provided the opportunity for companies around the world to automate their factory significantly faster than what was possible before," said Etienne Lacroix, CEO and Co-Founder. "Having a local presence in the United States and in Europe will bring us closer to our clients and business partners," he added.
Building upon its leadership team, Vention appointed new leadership to drive these expansions in key markets. Vention welcomed 8 new executives in 2022:
Annie Noel, Chief Operation Officer, Montreal
Jessica Deckinger, Chief Marketing Officer, Boston
Mehmet Caliskan, VP of Sales EMEA, Berlin
Mathieu Desmarais, VP of Application Engineering, Montreal
Anik Roy-Trudel, VP of Product Line Management, Montreal
Natalie Molson, VP of People and Culture
Ashan Haque, VP of Software Engineering - Web & Infrastructure
Sam Elouta, VP of Strategic Sourcing and Procurement
Building Momentum
2022 was marked by a series C financing of US$95M led by existing investor Georgian. New investor Fidelity Investment Canada ULC also joined the round alongside existing investors White Star Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, and Bolt Ventures. The funding raised will be used to continue to grow Vention's go-to-market, expand the company's global distribution footprint, and accelerate the development of its hardware and software platform.
About Vention
Vention helps some of the most innovative manufacturers automate their production floors in just a few days through a democratized user experience. Vention's digital manufacturing automation platform allows clients to design, automate, order, and deploy automated equipment directly from their web browsers. Vention is headquartered in Montreal, Canada, with new offices in Berlin and Boston. The 360-person company serves 3,000+ customers on five continents and 25 manufacturing industries. To learn more, visit vention.io or follow us on LinkedIn.
*MachineLogic, MachineCloud and Vention are trademarks of Vention Inc.
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