Pianoro (Bologna) – On 7 October 2022, the Marchesini Group announced its acquisition of 100% of the SEA Vision Group. Sea Vision founded in Pavia has become a leader in the construction of traceability, data collection and inspection systems in the pharmaceuticals and cosmetics packaging sector. The acquisition began in 2018 with the initial purchase of a 48% stake in the SEA Vision Group and its completion represents one of the most significant market operations undertaken by Marchesini Group in its almost fifty years of history.
Further to the acquisition Pietro Cassani, chief executive officer of the Marchesini Group, will become the chairman of the Board of SEA Vision Group, which will also include Michele Cei, co-founder of the Pavia-based company, who will retain the role of CEO. Marchesini Group in accordance with its usual policy, will not interfere with the corporate structure or the expansion plan of SEA Vision Group, which is forecasting a turnover of over 50 million Euro for 2022.
“We have been engaging with Industry 4.0 issues for over 20 years, since well before they became a hot topic,” commented Pietro Cassani. “SEA Vision Group’s entry into the Marchesini Group will enable us to create packaging lines which are even more integrated with vision and inspection systems, to guarantee our customers ever-improving performances and a high degree of personalisation.”
“After years of strategic partnership, today we are completing our entry into the Marchesini Group – this operation will ensure SEA Vision Group the best conditions for growth on the international markets, and further boost our already strong development ambitions,” pointed out Michele Cei, CEO of SEA Vision Group. “All the projects on which we are hard at work to launch new products with AI techniques, such as Line Clearance, or in the areas of Vision and Traceability, will continue with even greater drive. We will also retain our commercial independence – in other words, our identity.”
A galaxy of related automation and AI businesses
The SEA Vision Group operation crowns a long-term strategy which aims to integrate the galaxy of mechanical engineering businesses controlled by Marchesini Group with some of Italy’s top software and vision companies. It is in the light of this strategy that SEA Vision Group recently acquired AI specialist ARGO Vision, while Marchesini Group completed its take-over of Proteo Engineering – which specialises in industrial automation – and Auteco, a creator of solutions in the field of automation, process control and workflow digitalisation. Moreover, in 2021 Marchesini Group acquired a minority holding in Bologna-based startup Eyecan, owner of an innovative technology enhanced by AI algorithms which enables robots equipped with vision to train the robotic systems installed on Marchesini Group lines, thus speeding up packaging cycles.
“Through in-house management of the complex dynamics involved in the digitalisation of production processes, we intend to interconnect mechanical engineering with robotics and software, and manufacturing with digitalisation and AI,” commented Maurizio Marchesini, chairman of Marchesini Group and Vice-Chairman of Confindustria responsible for Supply Chains and Medium-Sized Enterprises.
“The aim is to transform the production lines which package, amongst other things, products like Covid vaccines and cancer drugs, into objects which can be entirely interconnected, in order to offer our customers real-time technical service in line with the highest standards required by the industries in which we work.”
