1972. Founded by Romano Volta, Datalogic is born in a room in the rectory of the Parish in Quarto Inferiore, on the outskirts of Bologna, Italy. Initially, production is centered on electronic devices, but soon the direction changes towards the design and production of photoelectric sensors for textile, ceramic and packaging industries. Soon a larger plant is required, marking the beginning of Datalogic’s base in Lippo.
1974. International expansion begins with the opening of a small office in Nürtingen, Germany, for the distribution of Datalogic products.
1976. Datalogic starts selling its products in Japan.
1978. Realizing the importance of the American market, the first commercial company in the United States is established.
By the end of the 70s, Datalogic strengthens its sales and customer service network with the creation of subsidiaries in all principal European countries.
1980. There is a strong drive towards research in the field of optical bar code readers. Important industrial applications are achieved in Europe with the exclusive laser scanners for which Datalogic becomes a technological leader and benchmark for the sector.
1984. The first application of a barcode reader at an airport in Milan - Linate.
1988. Pursuing its policy of international expansion, Datalogic opens new research, production and sales centres, and during this year acquires Escort Memory Systems in California, active in the electronic tag and RFID market.
In this decade, Datalogic has plants, subsidiaries and distributors in Europe, America, Oceania, Asia and Africa.
1993. Romano Volta steers Datalogic towards a new managerial organization. An ambitious 3-year (1993–1995) Strategic Improvement Plan is launched, to transform Datalogic into “an industrial reality, with steady and sustained growth, internationally known for results, reputation and image”. This becomes a real turning point for the company.
1995. A new production plant opens at Pescara.
1995. A joint venture is established with the Japanese Izumi group, to develop commercial activity in Japan and the Far East.
1997. Datalogic acquires IDWare Mobile Computing & Communications, the largest European producer of portable terminals.
1999. Datalogic achieves the world’s first application of RFID technology in a post office.
2000. Creation of the first self-shopping solution, Shopevolution™, which leverages the use of small hand-held computers with integrated bar code readers. The solution allows shoppers to make their purchases quickly, enjoyably and above all without having to queue for payment.
2001. Datalogic is listed on the New Market of the Milan stock exchange.
2002. The company’s expansion continues with the acquisition of Minec, a Swedish producer of portable terminals.
2004. Datalogic acquires Laservall, a company dealing in laser marking.
2005. A milestone is reached in Datalogic’s development with the acquisition of the American company PSC, based in Eugene, Oregon. Datalogic becomes the third largest company in the world market for bar code readers, doubling its turnover. The acquisition of PSC affirms Datalogic’s status as a true pioneer in the field of bar code readers. The first bar code scan at a retail check out was on 26 June 1974. A pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit was read at the Marsh store in Troy, Ohio. The world’s first counter-top scanner, the Magellan Model A was used. This early scanner can now be found in the museum at the entrance to the Datalogic plant in Eugene.
2006. The new factory in Trnava, Slovakia is complete, covering an area of 5,400 m2.
2008. Datalogic announces the acquisition of Datasensor, a transaction of great industrial value that consolidates Datalogic’s position in the industrial automation sector.
2009. The ultimate accolade for Datalogic: on 8 June, Romano Volta receives the “Premio Imprese per l’Innovazione” (Business Prize for Innovation) from the President of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano. This award recognizes the company’s growth both in Italy and globally resulting from investing in innovation.
2009. Datalogic’s expansion continues in Asia. On 10 July, Datalogic opens a new plant in Vietnam, situated in the Saigon High-Tech Park (SHTP).
2010. Datalogic announces the acquisition of Evolution Robotics Retail, a Californian company equipped with state-of-the-art technology in the field of visual pattern recognition.
2011. Datalogic acquires PPT Vision, a US company with a 30 year history in the vision sector, thus completing Datalogic’s range of high-end solutions and services in the innovative technological field of machine vision.
2012. Datalogic completes the acquisition of Accu-Sort Systems Inc., a company based in Telford, Pennsylvania that leads the US market in the design, production, integration and maintenance of automatic identification systems. The acquisition of Accu-Sort Systems Inc. doubles the presence of Datalogic in the industrial automation market.
2015. Datalogic buys 20% of CAEN RFID Srl, an Italian company at the forefront of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) in the UHF (Ultra High Frequency) band. This acquisition enables Datalogic to widen its product offering, specifically in the Nonfood Retail, Warehousing and T&L segments.
Today, Datalogic is a global leader in Automatic Data Capture and Industrial Automation markets. The company has 12 research and development centers worldwide, employs approximately 2,700 members of staff worldwide distributed in 30 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific, and the United States. Datalogic’s innovative solutions and products are used in over a third of supermarkets and points of sale worldwide, as well as in a third of airports, shipping and postal services.
2016. Datalogic recorded revenues of 576,5 million Euro, investing over 50 million Euro in research and development, and has a continuously expanding portfolio of approximately 1,200 patents and pending patent applications in multiple jurisdictions.
2017. Datalogic adopted a new strategy, transforming the company’s organization from a product-oriented one, to a customer-centric model, breaking down its structure into four different divisions corresponding to the four sectors that it considers its main targets: Retail, Manufacturing, Healthcare and Transport-Logistics. Thanks to the breadth and the uniqueness of its range of products and solutions (which have always represented our competitive edge), we succeed with this new organisational model to meet the needs of our customers across their entire value chain.
2017. Datalogic acquired SOREDI Touch Systems GmbH, of Munich (Germany), a global technology leader for industrial computers, allowing the company to complete its offering of readers and mobile computers with forklifts terminals for warehouse management, and to enter into the rugged tablet market.
2021. Datalogic has acquired MD Micro Detectors operating in the design, production and sale of industrial sensors. The acquisition will allow the Group Datalogic to strengthen its Italian and global presence in the industrial automation market, through the integration of sensors, safety devices and machine safety product portfolio. 
2022. Datasensing was born in 2022 merging two realities that have made the history of sensors in Italy since the early 1970s: Datalogic's Sensor & Safety and Machine Vision business unit and M.D. Micro Detectors, acquired in 2021. Datasensing is "easing automation challenges", thanks to machine vision deep learning, sensors & safety solutions focused on industrial automation, from production to internal logistics of goods. 
2022. Datalogic acquired Pekat S.r.o. ("Pekat"), a start-up founded by Petr Smid, who has developed proprietary algorithms that use machine learning and deep learning for the automation of processes in the Manufacturing, Transportation and Logistics sectors, with further potential for managing retail applications. 