Litesentry - Softsolution - Strainoptics

What Litesentry - Softsolution - Strainoptics does

LiteSentry-Softsolution-Strainoptics is a global supplier of automated glass quality inspection systems, formed in 2021 from the merger of US-based LiteSentry and Austria-based Softsolution, with Strainoptics integrated as a product partnership. The company sells capital equipment and accompanying service agreements to industrial glass manufacturers across flat glass, architectural glass, solar PV glass, and sheet plastic, with 3,000+ systems installed worldwide across its 25-year operational history. Named customers include Saint-Gobain India, Merck, Press Glass, SEMCOGLAS, and Sisecam, indicating penetration among top-tier producers in Europe and Asia.

The product portfolio spans 13+ inspection systems built on a combined technology stack of Machine Vision, optics, light, opto-electronics, and mechanics. Flagship products include the LineScanner, Osprey 25 (launched 2025), Hawk 4, and BowScanner families, with the Strainoptics polarimetry-based instruments adding complementary inspection modalities. The Vitrum 2023 Best Tech Award and ISO 9001 certification (2023) anchor the company's positioning as an audited, third-party-validated supplier to a quality-critical industrial customer base.

Revenue is generated through quote-based capital equipment sales from dual headquarters in Burnsville, MN and Waidhofen an der Ybbs, Austria, supplemented by a global channel partner network and recurring service agreements. Pricing is opaque (no public list prices), and no revenue, headcount, or funding figures are disclosed. The company is privately held with no known external investors, suggesting it is funded organically through operations or retained earnings by the merged owners.

Name

Litesentry - Softsolution - Strainoptics

Legal name

Softsolution GmbH & LiteSentry, LLC

Website

https://www.glassquality.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

LiteSentry-Softsolution-Strainoptics supplies automated glass quality inspection systems combining machine vision and optical sensor technology to industrial glass manufacturers in flat, architectural, solar PV, and sheet-plastic segments worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Glass Quality Inspection Equipment

NAICS

Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro primary industry

Inspection, Checkweighing & Detection Systems (Vision, Metal, X-ray) (IMALAOAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Metrology, Inspection & Machine Tool Accessories (CMMs, Probing, Gauging) (IMAHADAK)

Keywords

• Automated glass inspection
• Flat glass quality control
• Surface stress measurement
• Machine vision inspection
• Glass tempering quality

Headquarters

HQ city

Waidhofen An Der Ybbs

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Automated Quality Inspection Systems (Hardware + Software): Sale of proprietary automated glass quality scanning systems including hardware (scanners, sensors, inspection units) and integrated software. Systems cover the full production process from load validation to defect detection, distortion inspection, and coating orientation. Revenue is generated through equipment sales, installation, and associated customer care agreements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

LiteSentry - Softsolution - Strainoptics designs, manufactures and sells automated quality inspection systems for the flat glass, solar PV and sheet plastic industries. The portfolio combines scanner-based and camera-based inspection hardware with proprietary software to detect inclusions, bubbles, scratches, roller waves, distortions, anisotropies, deflection, breakage patterns, thickness, coating and surface stress across the full production process from load validation and furnace optimization to final quality control.

Product overview

LiteSentry - Softsolution - Strainoptics is a unified company formed through the 2021 merger of LiteSentry and Softsolution, offering a comprehensive portfolio of automated glass quality inspection systems. The product line includes scanner-based inspection systems (LineScanner, Osprey®25, BowScanner, CulletScanner, Hawk® 4) for defect detection including distortions, anisotropies, scratches, roller waves, and inclusions; furnace optimization systems (Owl® 5, Load Validator™, TemperQC™) for process control; specialized sensors (TS Product Family, LineScanner Reflection) for thickness, coating, and white haze measurement; and software solutions (VirtualDigitizing, GASP® Polarimeters) for template digitization and surface stress measurement. More than 3,000 systems are installed worldwide across locations in Burnsville, USA and Waidhofen/Ybbs, Austria.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GASP® Polarimeters: Industry standard polarimeter for measuring surface stress of glass, used on architectural glass or automotive glass
• Hawk® 4
• LineScanner
• Osprey® 25
• Load Validator™
• Owl® 5
• TemperQC™
• xandi Glass
• BowScanner
• CulletScanner
• VirtualDigitizing
• TS Product family

Products and services

• Hawk 4 Quality and dimension control system for glass inspection, providing precise measurement capabilities for glass manufacturing processes.
• LineScanner All-in-one quality inspection system for float, heat-treated, laminated glass, and IG units featuring worldwide unique real scanning technology for comprehensive defect detection.
• LineScanner Reflection Specialized white haze detection system for identifying and measuring white haze defects in glass using reflection-based inspection technology.
• Osprey 25 Comprehensive Optical Inspection Premier distortion, anisotropy, and surface quality inspection system in a single footprint that combines multiple inspection capabilities in one compact unit.
• Load Validator Loading test system with recipe selection and optimization capabilities for glass tempering and processing furnaces.
• Owl 5 Glass Furnace Optimization System Recipe selection and fault detection system that increases throughput and efficiency by detecting faults at the start and optimizing recipe selection and furnace control.
• TemperQC Tempering quality control system for monitoring and optimizing the glass tempering process.
• xandi Glass Quality control solution for glass loading, recipe selection, and optimization in glass processing and manufacturing operations.
• BowScanner Deflection measurement system that measures overall bow and identifies unwanted deflection of laminated or tempered glass, minimizing breakage risk and downtime.
• CulletScanner Breakage pattern test system for analyzing glass fracture patterns and identifying causes of breakage.
• VirtualDigitizing Software application for flexible digitization of templates that can be used easily and quickly in any industry.
• TS Product Family Glass thickness and coating detection sensors for measuring glass thickness and identifying coating properties in production.
• Strainoptics GASP Polarimeters Industry standard polarimeter for measuring the surface stress of architectural or automotive glass.

Named customers21 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature14 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Softsolution (Merger/Joint Force)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021In 2021, scanner specialists LiteSentry and Softsolution joined forces. The merger strengthened both companies with complementary product portfolios: LiteSentry's scanner technology combined with Softsolution's camera-based solutions. Locations in Burnsville/USA and Waidhofen/Austria enable higher availability, fast response times, and short distances to customers across both regions. The existing employee teams remain and continue to serve customers.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• HEGLA GmbH & Co. KG: German manufacturer of machinery and systems for flat-glass processing, cutting, sorting, and quality assurance. Directly competes in glass fabrication line equipment with overlapping inspection offerings for fabricators.
• Mappi Group: Italian manufacturer of glass tempering furnaces and related processing equipment, including integrated quality inspection solutions. Operates in the same glass-fabrication equipment category with overlapping inspection functionality.
• Heinrich Rübsamen GmbH & Co. KG: German specialist in quality inspection equipment for the flat glass industry, including scanning and camera-based defect detection systems. Closely comparable niche competitor with similar product focus on glass fabricators.
• For.El. S.p.A. Italian provider of integrated glass-processing lines including tempering, laminating, and quality-inspection systems. Direct competitor selling into the same flat-glass fabricator customer base with complementary equipment offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Cognex Corporation: Global leader in machine vision and industrial barcode reading. While not glass-specific, its vision systems are used broadly in industrial inspection and represent a potential substitute for dedicated glass-inspection systems in lower-end applications.
• Glaston Group: Finnish-listed provider of glass processing machinery and services for architectural, automotive, and solar glass, including heat-treatment and laminating equipment. While primarily a machinery vendor, Glaston increasingly bundles inspection and process-control capabilities, competing for the same glass-fabricator wallet.
• Keyence Corporation: Japanese manufacturer of sensors, measuring systems, and machine vision equipment widely used in factory automation. Provides general-purpose optical inspection that could substitute for or compete with specialized glass inspection at certain price points.
• ISRA VISION (Atlas Copco): ISRA VISION, acquired by Atlas Copco, is a leading global provider of machine vision and surface inspection systems for flat glass, metals, paper, and other industries. It directly competes in automated glass-quality inspection at scale, with broader portfolio and deeper R&D resources.
• Jenoptik AG: German photonics and optoelectronics company providing laser-based and optical inspection and metrology systems for industrial applications, including surface and dimensional inspection in manufacturing environments.
• SICK AG: German industrial sensor and automation solutions provider offering machine vision and quality inspection systems. SICK competes in factory-floor inspection broadly and has presence in glass and related process industries.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Litesentry - Softsolution - Strainoptics