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By Donato Montanari | July 24 2025
The Vision Behind Zebra’s Industrial Automation Center of Excellence
Last month, Zebra and Clearview, a Zebra industrial automation distributor, hosted a launch event to officially open our new Industrial Automation Center of Excellence. The two-day launch event underscored our commitment to collaboration and innovation in fixed industrial scanning and machine vision.
Today, I want to share with you the story behind this initiative. The center is more than just a facility; it represents our vision for the future of industrial operations—a future where technology serves people and empowers organizations to thrive.
Our Motivation
In my role, I often engage with manufacturers and logistics organizations, listening to their challenges and aspirations. A common theme emerges: the struggle to keep pace with rapid technological advancements and the urgent need for real-time visibility in quality management.
These challenges aren’t just technical—they touch the human element of industry. A person may be trained in machine vision and may have a little bit of experience. However, it’s very difficult to actually be able to deploy a specific inspection solution on your line that works 99.9% of the time. Frontline engineers, machine builders, and systems integrators face these complexities daily.
Recognizing this, we felt compelled to create a space where professionals could come together to experiment, learn, and innovate—a hub where ideas are shared and solutions crafted through hands-on experience. Working with Clearview, we established this Center of Excellence in southeast England, a region synonymous with innovation and ambition.
In addition to their technical capabilities, Clearview was selected because they made a clear commitment to helping Zebra grow and support a broader ecosystem. Their willingness to put Zebra front and center in their own facility speaks volumes. This is a true collaboration built on shared ambition, with Clearview investing time, resources, and visibility into making this Center of Excellence a collaborative environment from which all our partners and Zebra teams can actively benefit.
Our Driving Force
At Zebra, our purpose is to make work better every day for organizations, their employees, and those they serve. This center embodies that purpose, offering components, tailored training, advisory services, and practical demonstrations. It’s a space where machine vision specialists can bring their parts and leave with a proof-of-concept, actionable plans, and a bill of materials to address their unique challenges.
The center operates like a walk-in application evaluation lab. I envision visitors arriving with their parts and spending hours experimenting with lighting, optics, and camera resolutions. Experts on hand can guide them through the complexities of machine vision, ensuring they leave with a robust solution tailored to their needs. It’s about providing a clear template and process for collaborative problem-solving.
A Human-Centric Approach
This initiative is deeply personal to me and reflects Zebra’s commitment to our customers. The journey to automation and digitization is about more than technology—it’s fundamentally about people. The center serves as a reflection of this understanding, providing a collaborative space where human ingenuity meets technological excellence. It’s about building relationships, fostering collaboration, turning ideas into reality, and increasing the adoption of machine vision in manufacturing and logistics.
Allan Anderson, Managing Director and Founder of Clearview, describes the center as a significant step forward for the machine vision industry. It bridges the gap between technology and user knowledge, empowering organizations to create vision systems that drive business growth. We’re proud to be part of this mission, providing a platform where expertise and innovation converge to create better outcomes for everyone involved.
An Invitation to Innovate
I invite organizations looking to explore the possibilities of machine vision to join us at the Industrial Automation Center of Excellence. Whether you’re an end user, machine builder, or systems integrator, this center is designed to help transform your operations. Connect with us to learn more and discover how we can support your journey, as we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in the industrial world.
