COGNEX CORP. PURCHASES NEW OFFICE BUILDING, BEGINS EXPANSION OF EXISTING BUILDING.

NATICK, MA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- July 7, 1995-Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX), the world's leading supplier of machine vision systems, today announced it has purchased an 83,000 square-foot office building adjacent to its existing corporate headquarters in Natick, MA. The company also announced that it has begun work on a planned 50,000 square-foot addition to its headquarters building. In total, Cognex plans to add an additional 133,000 square feet of office and R&D space at its Massachusetts location to accommodate the company's future growth.

"As Cognex continues to grow both domestically and internationally, we are creating many new positions within the company. In fact, we are expecting headcount to increase by approximately 20% just in the next few months," said Dr. Robert J. Shillman, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of Cognex. "The acquisition of the new building and the planned expansion of our existing headquarters building should provide us with sufficient office and R&D space to meet our growth expectations into the new century."

Cognex currently has 250 employees worldwide, with nearly 200 people based out of the company's 100,000 square-foot headquarters in Natick, MA. With the newly-acquired building and the planned addition, the company will have a total of 233,000 square feet of office, R&D, and product assembly space within its Natick office park, which should provide ample space for up to 1,000 employees.

Cognex purchased the 83,000 square-foot building for $5.3 million in cash. The building is occupied with tenants who have lease commitments that extend over the next several years. Cognex will oversee these lease commitments until it is ready to take occupancy. The building is located at Two Vision Drive, adjacent to the company's corporate headquarters at One Vision Drive.

Cognex also has begun work on its planned 50,000 square-foot addition to its existing headquarters building. This addition will provide office and R&D space that will be needed over the next few years. Construction efforts will begin this year, with occupancy slated for January of 1997. Due to the company's growth and resulting headcount requirements, this addition is two years ahead of the original schedule that Cognex anticipated when the company purchased and moved into its corporate headquarters in Natick in 1994.

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 more than 30,000 machine vision systems to date, 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: Kathy Bedrosian

Cognex Corporation

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