Continued momentum for Oxford Metrics’ smart manufacturing division

Appointment of smart manufacturing managing director
Industrial Vision Systems wins three contact lens inspection contracts since October 2024

20 March 2025 - Oxford Metrics plc (LSE: OMG), the smart sensing and software company servicing life sciences, entertainment, engineering and smart manufacturing markets, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Simon Gunter as managing director of our smart manufacturing division. The Group also announces that Industrial Vision Systems (“IVS”) has secured three contracts for global contact lens manufacturers with a combined value of c. £1.6 million (contained within current FY25 market expectations).

Appointment of managing director, smart manufacturing

Dr Simon Gunter has been appointed managing director of our smart manufacturing division, to lead and build the Group’s position in this important market and growth area. Simon is an experienced c-level leader with an extensive track record of growing early-stage technology businesses and successfully implementing change through business transformation, strategy and direction, M&A, and launching innovative products.

Simon has held executive board positions at Evinox Holding, Minibems, Nomad Digital and AlertMe and senior leadership positions at companies including Tiscali, Pirelli and 360networks, across the UK, Europe and North America.

Contact lens inspection contracts

IVS has secured three contracts for well-known, global, contact lens manufacturers. We are pleased to see that two of these contracts are with existing customers expanding their relationship with IVS. The third contract is with a new customer in contact lens manufacturing, as companies within IVS’ addressable market recognise the value of IVS’ specialised machine vision inspection systems for automated quality control.

Under the contracts, IVS will supply non-contact inspection systems enabling the manufacturers to automatically detect lens defects, errors and other irregularities, ensuring ‘right first time’ products. These inspection systems offer state-of-the-art checking, guidance and sorting using machine learning AI techniques, optimising line efficiency and increasing yield, while guaranteeing contact lens production quality.

Imogen O’Connor, CEO of Oxford Metrics, said, “Having established our presence in the smart manufacturing market, Simon, our new smart manufacturing managing director, brings a great deal of experience and will be a fantastic addition to the team as we work together to help build and capture more of this growth market.

I am also pleased to announce the recent contract wins; as demand for machine vision inspection continues to grow, manufacturers are increasingly turning to IVS’ technology to automate complex visual tasks, detect defects, and ensure quality products. The opportunity for inspection automation in manufacturing sectors such as medical devices, pharmaceuticals, automotive and aerospace is very exciting, as smart manufacturing becomes the standard.”

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