A word about Keyence

Keyence have been in the machine vision market for years but for some reason I’ve never really taken them seriously. Perhaps it was the little pendant control unit, or maybe the limited capabilities, whatever it was, I considered them the Kia of the vision world.

I think it’s time for a slice of humble pie. A sales rep just gave me a demo of the 3100 series and I think they’ve done a Hyundai. This is really a pretty nice product with lots of capability. I especially like the fact that I can load the software on my PC and develop an application away from the plant floor. (Well that’s what the sales guy claims – I haven’t tested it out myself yet.)

But why is that every time I talk to Keyence I find I’m dealing with a different sales person? Is a little continuity too much to ask? I wonder if this constant staff turnover is what’s really holding them back: I want to deal with someone who knows my products and applications, rather than having to spend the first ten minutes of every meeting explaining what it is we do and what our applications are.

Are you listening, Keyence?