FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATICK, MA, USA June 16, 2008

Cognex Names Robert Willet President of its Modular Vision Systems Division

NATICK, MA, June 16, 2008--Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX) announced that Robert Willett joined the company today as President of its Modular Vision Systems Division (MVSD).  Mr. Willett will report to Cognex Chairman and CEO, Dr. Robert J. Shillman.

As President of MVSD, Mr. Willett will oversee the largest operating division at Cognex which generates nearly 90% of the company’s annual revenue.  The Modular Vision Systems Division designs, develops and manufactures vision systems, sensors, and ID readers that are used to automate the manufacture of a wide range of discrete products and to assure their quality.    

Mr. Willett comes to Cognex from Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR), a diversified manufacturer of industrial controls and technologies with annual revenues of more than $10 billion.  At Danaher, Mr. Willett served as Group Vice President of Business Development and Innovation for the Product Identification business group.  Prior to that, Mr. Willett was President of Videojet Technologies, a large subsidiary of Danaher and a market leader in coding and marking products.  Mr. Willett joined Danaher after serving as CEO of Willett International Ltd., a global coding and marking company that he sold to Danaher in 2003, and which was merged into Videojet.

“Over the last twelve months, Cognex has made a number of internal changes to refocus our product development and sales efforts, and those changes have put us back on a fast growth track,” said Dr. Robert J. Shillman, Chairman and CEO of Cognex.  “Our business is doing very well right now, but in order to grow to $500 Million in annual revenue, we will need additional energy, brainpower and leadership skills, and that’s why we brought Rob on board.

Dr. Shillman continued, “Rob is a highly intelligent and hard working individual with an impressive track record of growing and managing technology businesses....most of them larger than Cognex.  In addition, his background in identifying and integrating acquisitions around the world will help accelerate our international growth, particularly in emerging regions such as China, India, Brazil and Russia.” 

Mr. Willett commented, “I have known and admired Cognex throughout my career in product identification, and I am very excited by the opportunity to help drive the company’s future growth.  Machine vision is a field with tremendous potential, and I look forward to leveraging Cognex’s technology and industry leadership to both expand the currently-served market and to explore profitable growth opportunities in new markets.”

CONTACT:
Robin Pratt
Sr. Manager, Corporate Communications
Cognex Corporation
phone:  (508) 650-3384
email: robin.pratt@cognex.com

About Cognex Corporation

Cognex Corporation (“the Company” or “Cognex”) invents and commercializes technologies that address some of the most critical manufacturing and distribution challenges. We are a leading global provider of machine vision products and solutions that improve efficiency and quality in high-growth-potential businesses across attractive industrial end markets. Our solutions blend physical products and software to capture and analyze visual information, allowing for the automation of manufacturing and distribution tasks for customers worldwide. Machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing or distribution and tracking of discrete items, such as mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries and e-commerce packages, by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them. Machine vision is important for applications in which human vision is inadequate to meet requirements for size, accuracy, or speed, or in instances where substantial cost savings or quality improvements are maintained.

Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry, having shipped more than 4 million image-based products, representing over $10 billion in cumulative revenue, since the company's founding in 1981. Headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, USA, Cognex has offices and distributors located throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. For details, visit cognex.com.

IR Contact
Nathan McCurren
Head of Investor Relations
Cognex Corporation
ir@cognex.com

Media Contact
Jeremy Sacco
Senior Manager, Global Content Marketing
Cognex Corporation
pr@cognex.com

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