March 16, 2020
Machine Vision Store Remains Open
Our ability to offer, ship and support products is largely unaffected by the the pandemic. Please return to this page for the most current information.
May 4, 2020: Basler Update
Basler factory lead times continue to improve on most models. Deliveries of the MED-ace, dart, pulse, beat, IP, and scout models are normal. For other models, please contact us for specific information.
April 14, 2020: Supply Chain Update
Our supply chain continues to adapt to the pandemic.
With the exception of Kowa American Corporation, all our suppliers are manufacturing and shipping product. Schneider Optics has restarted their US operations. The Kowa warehouse in California remains closed.
Lead time on most products is typical to slightly longer than usual. Many Basler cameras are a notable exception. We have taken action to increase our own inventory of select Basler models but, due to lead time, it will be a while before this has an impact.
April 3, 2020: Matrox MIL and DA Users Can Work from Home
We understand that you, as a registered Matrox MIL or DA developer, still need to get your job done. Even if you’re working from home.
Matrox has authorized us to provide registered users with a provisional license. The license will enable you to continue your development and test work, without having Marox hardware at your home. The provisional license will expire on June 1st. Contact us for details.
April 3, 2020: Learn Machine Vision for Free
Access to the Matrox Vision Academy online training portal is now available to any interested user. No download or purchase necessary.
Contact us to receive your sign-in credentials.
March 26, 2020: Minnesota Stay-at-Home Order
Our governor here in Minnesota has issued a “stay-at-home” order effective this Friday night through Friday April 10.
Electrical and electronic goods merchant wholesalers, including Machine Vision Store, are specifically authorized to continue operations. Many of our local customers are in critical industries approved to continue operations as well. The complete list of approved/disapproved business types is here.
To maintain the safety of our employees and enable appropriate social distancing, Machine Vision Store will be limiting our shipping operations. Effective immediately, we will ship orders on only Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Special requests will be considered on a case-by-base basis, with preference given to orders that support food and medical device manufacturing.
March 24, 2020: Opto Engineering Continues Operations
Opto Engineering continues operations in Texas and Italy. Potential for one to two week delays, beyond normal lead time, in the near term.
March 24, 2020: Neousys Continues Operations
Neousys continues operations in Illinois. We have not seen any delays associated with their US inventory.
March 24, 2020: Matrox Continues Operations
Matrox continues operations, as an essential organization, while many businesses in Quebec close today. The frequency of trucks delivering Matrox products to the US will be reduced, which may result in brief delays.
March 24, 2020: Spectrum to Run Limited Production
Michigan’s governor has ordered shelter-in-place for at least three weeks, effective today. Spectrum Illumination, located in Michigan, recognizes some of their customers are in critical supply chains. They intend to run very limited production, with partial staff working part time hours. Contact us to check availability of specific items.
March 23, 2020: Critical Infrastructure
Several customers have notified us that they are providers of “Critical Infrastructure” under Presidential Policy Directive 21 and Department of Homeland Security emergency readiness programs implementing the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001. 42 U.S.C. § 5195c(e). As a supplier to these manufacturers, they view our staff as Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce, recognized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security per CISA guidance.
We appreciate the critical role that many of our customers have in feeding, medically treating, and otherwise supporting not just Americans, but people worldwide. It is with concern that we see several of our suppliers pause operations.
Machine Vision Store will continue to receive and ship critical components, and offer essential support, for as long as it is safe, practical and legal to do so.
March 23, 2020: Kowa Closes
We just learned that Kowa American Corp. has temporarily closed their Los Angeles facility, by government order. Their staff is working from home, but shipping operations have stopped. They will remain closed until at least April 19th.
If you need Kowa lenses that we don’t have in stock, we can probably arrange a drop shipment direct from their factory. Shipping terms would be ExWorks Saitama, Japan.
March 23, 2020: Schneider Optics Closes
Schneider Optics reports their offices in New York and California have temporarily closed. They are not shipping any orders, until further notice. We apologize to customers with open orders. This is beyond our control.
March 23, 2020: Fujinon Still Shipping
Fujinon reports they are still shipping machine vision lenses, although we should expect brief delays.
March 21, 2020: Pennsylvania Businesses Close
On Thursday March 19, the governor of Pennsylvania ordered most businesses in the state to close. We have three partner suppliers located in Pennsylvania:
- APG Vision has halted manufacturing without any advance notice.
- We suspect Base Lab Tools has had to halt manufacturing, although we are waiting to receive confirmation.
- We tentatively do not expect the shut-down to affect our orders with Basler, as we receive shipments direct from their factory in Germany. Most of their staff in Pennsylvania were already working from their homes. We understand the factory is currently operating two shifts so as to enable some degree of social distancing.
We encourage all customers to immediately place orders for all items you will need in the next several months. We still have a healthy amount of local inventory. And if we don’t have what you need, you’ll at least want to be front of the line for when it becomes available.
March 19, 2020: Basler Update
Basler experienced unprecedented demand for their products in January and February. There was an unusually high load on their manufacturing capacity and supply chain. Unfortunately this left the company in a less-than-ideal position, with regard to inventory and supply chain, to respond to the coronavirus. Lead times have dramatically increased. If you will need Basler cameras in the coming months, we suggest ordering today. Note that we still have reasonable inventory levels in our own warehouse, but this won’t last.
March 16, 2020: Machine Vision Store Remains Open
Machine Vision Store remains open for business. We continue to process orders, send shipments and support customers during these difficult times. Many of our customers are involved with the manufacture of critical items such as food, medical devices, and medications. We will continue operations so long as it is safe for our team to do so.
Machine Vision Store fully supports CDC recommendations, and is acting to prioritize the health and safety of our team. Most of us are currently working from home. Fortunately, we already had the technology and policies in place to work remotely. As usual, you can reach our team by email, or by calling our normal office extensions.
We have a few people that continue to work in our warehouse to support shipping and receiving operations. We do not anticipate any unusual shipping or receiving delays from our facility. Our team members have been cross-trained, and our processes carefully documented, for operational continuity.
We are regularly communicating with our suppliers in order to understand evolving business conditions. Although most factory lead times remain unchanged, you may wish to contact us when placing an order to confirm expected availability. Be aware that we have recently seen some incoming shipments delayed by US customs.
Please check back here for future updates, and contact us with any questions or concerns you have. Let’s prioritize safety, as we each do our part to keep the economy moving.
Tags: Coronavirus, business status