STADTRODA, GERMANY-Allied Vision Technologies, manufacturer of digital cameras for industrial imaging, celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2009. On March 6, 1989, the company was founded as Manfred Sticksel CCD Kameratechnik GmbH in Alzenau, Germany. Founder Sticksel established himself within the German market as an importer and distributor of analog cameras and components for industrial imaging.

Renamed Allied Vision Technologies in 2001, the company has evolved from a distributor into a camera developer and manufacturer. Headquartered in Stadtroda in the German Federal State of Thuringia, the company has four locations and employs more than 130 people in Germany, the United States and Canada.

“Allied Vision Technologies is 20. That’s young, but in our young industry, at the same time, it’s a ripe old age,” says Frank Grube, president and chief executive officer. “We’ve achieved a lot in these 20 years and built a solid foundation for expanding our leading role in the market still further.”