The Rise of Metrology: From World Cup to Factory
From smart World Cup pitches to smart world-class factories
Elite sport and modern manufacturing increasingly rely on the same underlying principle: precision measurement. Whether it is determining if a football crossed the goal line by millimetres or identifying microscopic defects on a semiconductor production line, advances in sensors, machine vision, and real-time analytics are reshaping how important decisions are made.
The same technologies that helped referees officiate the FIFA World Cup, and have replaced line judges at Wimbledon, are also helping factories improve productivity, reduce waste, and raise returns on capital.
Technology transforms the world’s biggest sporting stage
Sport is big business. The FIFA World Cup is thought to have generated over $15bn1 in revenue. In a world where a single refereeing error can influence not just the result of a match but tournament outcomes, club transfer values and player bonuses, it is not surprising to see sport governing bodies increasingly leaning on technology to improve the accuracy and consistency of officiating.
Today, there are at least 262 dedicated cameras supporting officiating functions around a football pitch, including systems capable of tracking player limb movements to assist offside decisions.
Inside the football, tiny sensors transmit ball-position data hundreds of times per second and are sensitive enough to detect individual touches. Together, these systems are becoming faster, more integrated, and more accurate through advances in connectivity, machine vision, and sensor technology.
The same technologies are now reshaping factories. Applied metrology—the science of measurement and standards—is becoming increasingly important in manufacturing, enabling greater automation and step changes in quality and sophistication of production.
Companies set to benefit
Two companies that could directly benefit are Keyence and Hexagon, both held by Mid Wynd International Investment Trust plc. While the two companies serve overlapping industrial markets, they focus on different parts of the manufacturing process and are highly specialised.
Keyence is best known for its sensors, machine vision systems, and inline inspection tools used to automate and monitor production lines. Hexagon combines metrology hardware with industrial software and measurement systems that help manufacturers design, simulate, inspect, and optimise production processes.
Importantly, both businesses are evolving beyond just providing the hardware. Increasingly, they are generating recurring revenue from ongoing software, analytics, and maintenance packages—add-ons that can boost profitability some way into the future. In our view, that supports the investment case.
A more supportive industrial backdrop
At the same time, manufacturing activity is showing signs of improvement across the US, Europe, Japan, and China. This synchronisation is notable because, for much of the period since 2023, at least one major industrial region has remained in slowdown territory.
Even modest stabilisation in Chinese industrial activity can have an outsized effect on global automation demand because China remains the world’s largest machine tool and factory automation market. A broader recovery in manufacturing investment therefore is good news for industrial technology suppliers.
Structural drivers offer additional tailwinds
Looking further ahead, several structural forces suggest this investment by industries in technology may prove broader and more durable than previously expected:
- Reshoring and industrial policy: US CHIPS Act projects, European industrial sovereignty initiatives, and China’s localisation push are driving the construction of new greenfield factories, which are typically far more automated than legacy plants.
- Labour shortages: Ageing workforces across Japan, Germany, and the US are structurally increasing demand for robotics, machine vision and autonomous inspection.
- Precision and traceability requirements: Modern manufacturing increasingly requires micron-level tolerances and fast, efficient inspection capabilities, particularly in sectors such as semiconductors, electronics, and advanced industrials.
Taken together, these cyclical tailwinds and structural drivers create a supportive backdrop for companies such as Hexagon and Keyence. In our view, the market may still be underappreciating the durability of demand for precision measurement, automation, and industrial software solutions, particularly as manufacturing becomes more digitised and quality requirements continue to rise.
Within automation, we continue to focus on global leaders supplying mission-critical technologies that improve manufacturing efficiency, reliability, and precision. Businesses with strong competitive positions, high returns on capital, and increasing exposure to recurring software and service revenues may be particularly well placed to compound earnings over the long term.
It is estimated that 1.5 billion people watched the World Cup final. Most were acutely aware of the impact of technology in refereeing decisions. Far fewer understand the impact that this technology is having in the manufacturing world. But to my mind, the potential benefits for those investors who recognise the opportunities could be far more consequential.
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