COGNEX CORP. ACQUIRES ACUMEN, INC. IN $14 MILLION DEAL; Acquisition Will Strengthen Leading Machine Vision Supplier's Product Offerings In Semiconductor Industry.

NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 12, 1995--Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX), Natick, MA, the world's leading supplier of machine vision systems, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Acumen, Inc., a Portland, Oregon-based developer of machine vision systems for semiconductor wafer identification. Under the terms of the agreement, Cognex will pay a total of approximately $14 million in a combination of cash and Cognex stock for Acumen.

Cognex supplies machine vision systems that automatically gauge, guide, inspect, and identify products during manufacturing processes in industries such as semiconductor, electronics, consumer products, pharmaceutical, automotive, aerospace, and graphic arts. Acumen's products will complement and strengthen Cognex's semiconductor wafer identification capabilities through features such as allowing users to define custom fonts for the machine vision system to read.

"This acquisition will reinforce Cognex's long-standing commitment to our customers in the semiconductor industry," said Dr. Robert J. Shillman, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of Cognex. "We believe that Acumen's powerful technology offers our customers both immediate and long-term benefits. In the short-term, our customers gain access to Acumen's products in the strategically important area of wafer identification. In the longer term, Cognex customers will benefit from the accelerated product development schedules made possible by the addition of Acumen's engineers to our talent pool."

"Joining the Cognex team is an exciting opportunity, not only for Acumen but also for our customers," said E. John McGarry, who will continue to serve as Acumen's President. "By tapping Cognex's worldwide sales and support network, we can immediately serve customers more efficiently. The use of vision systems for wafer identification is increasing at a dramatic rateQand together with Cognex, we'll be unmatched in terms of products, sales coverage, and support capability."

Acumen, which was founded in 1991, is currently a subsidiary of Ontario, Canada-based ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc., a large factory systems integrator serving international customers in a wide range of industries. Acumen, with estimated 1995 revenue of approximately $5 million, is expected to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cognex, to remain at its current location, and to retain its current employees. The companies expect to complete the transaction by the end of July. The acquisition of all of the outstanding shares of Acumen will be accounted for under the purchase method of accounting. A significant portion of the purchase price is expected to be charged to third quarter earnings for in-process technology.

Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets machine vision systems, or computers that can "see," which are used to automate a wide range of manufacturing processes where vision is required. Having shipped over 30,000 systems since its founding in 1981, Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry. In addition to its headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, the company has offices throughout the United States and Europe, and in Japan and Singapore.

CONTACT: John J. Rogers, Jr.

Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Cognex Corporation

[phone]