Abbeychart will be showing a number of new products which can be seen for the first time at BWCA including their ABC Value Range of in-line filters for cold and ambient water applications. The easy to change low-cost filters are ideal for vending, table-top, and POU water coolers to light commercial and under-sink installations, glass/dishwashers and small boilers. 

Packaging manufacturer Huhtamaki has won the prestigious Bunzl ‘Supplier of the Year 2009’ Award!

John Young, UK Foodservice Sales and Marketing Director, Huhtamaki Ltd said: “Huhtamaki is delighted to have won the title of Bunzl ‘Supplier of the Year 2009’ – an achievement we are very proud of! The Award is a result of Huhtamaki teamwork and the continual effort and support from every­  help service and supply Bunzl.”

Venditalia 2008 registered attendance figures of over 14,000 professional visitors, 49% of which were foreign visitors, and 269 exhibitors on a floor surface of 20,000 sqm, making Venditalia an ideal instrument for companies wishing to develop their business and approach the international Vending marketplace.

An N&W Sfera snack vending machine which takes Visa payWave contactless debit/credit cards plus also all contact chip cards (no pin) has been installed at the Visa Europe HQ by TouchGo Technology.

The Science Museum in London has launched a landmark exhibition highlighting the scientific heritage the world has inherited from Muslim civilisation. 1001 Inventions: Discover the Muslim Heritage in Our World, sponsored by the Jameel Foundation, traces the forgotten story of a thousand years of science from the Muslim world, from the 7th century onwards.

The European Vending Association is publishing its position paper on HFC gases. Following a regulation, which bans the use of these gases in the automobile industry, the vending industry has decided to take a step forward on this issue.

Kraft Foods prepares to launch more than 20 new food and beverage products in the first months of 2010, inspired by consumer trends for bold, adventurous tastes.

Florida orange yield falls due to cold weather and disease, which is expected to lead to global price increases, with the UK anticipating rises of 10-30%.

2010 is a milestone year for leading packaging manufacturer Huhtamaki, as the company celebrates its 90th anniversary!

Westomatic Vending Services Ltd has strengthened its UK sales team, with the appointment of Les Pearce as the new Vending Sales Manager for North England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In Cup Plus, makers of the innovative Xen range of automatic drinks vending systems, launch their latest offering. Set to open a new, untapped market for businesses who would never have considered a drinks vending system before the introduction of the PODULE

Extra Overview

Wrigley’s Extra® is the No.1 Sugar Confectionery brand in the UK, currently worth over £152m in sales. Sales of Extra® chewing gum alone are worth over £141m claiming a 57% value share of the gum category and nearly 12% share of the sugar confectionery category. Extra’s® extensive range of sugarfree products includes Extra® gum, Extra Ice® and Extra® Mints.

New 88-page Abbeychart catalogue details over 10,000 ‘big name’ vending products under six broad categories for easy reference: vending components, water and soft drinks, fittings and accessories, refrigeration, hygiene and cleaning.  Abbeychart’s new ABC low-cost filters and Abbeytap faucets are detailed, as are its refurbishment services and its E-shop for fast and easy online ordering.

After 34 years of innovation, the company that introduced the Polyvend, BevMax and Fastcorp vending machines into Europe is delighted to mark the new decade by launching a brand new range of unrivalled, full line vending machines from USI. 

Few would argue that 2009 was a difficult year for the UK Automatic Vending industry but early signs suggest that the market is slowly emerging from the malaise of the last 2 years.

TradeCoolersDirect.com (TCD), a division of the successful UK based cooler company, Water Coolers Direct (WCD), has recently expanded its team with the appointment of Nigel Elwick and Andy Burns, in sales and technical roles respectively.

Nescafé® Gold Blend® launches its brand new ‘Employee of the Month’ competition this February designed to help boost sales throughout 2010. Businesses will not only profit from this high impact campaign and increased brand awareness with improved sales of Nescafé® Gold Blend® but employers can get involved and enter too! The campaign couldn’t be easier – it simply identifies and rewards someone outstanding in your workplace that deserves special recognition.

REAL, the popular hand cooked crisps and chips brand is adding a new product to its range - Real D’Lites. Aimed at the health conscious consumer, D’Lites, the tasty snacks made from the root vegetable Cassava and contains less fat than regular crisps and is also only 83 calories per pack.

Jonathan brings to the AVA an impressive, 20 or so years of commercial experience, a significant proportion of which is in the finance, leasing and vending markets. His first role in the vending industry came as a specialist with Anglo Leasing and subsequently with Schroder Leasing and Siemens Financial Services, where he managed sales teams that were responsible for funding in excess of £200m of machines into the vending sector over a number of years. More recently as consultant to a number of vending companies, he has specialised in working with small to medium sized businesses and large food brands, advising and mentoring, while introducing new technology into the vending market.

The FAIRTRADE Mark ensures that the producers of goods have received what has been agreed to be a fair price, as well as the social premiums to invest in the future of their communities. Talking of coffee farming, the Foundation explains: “Around 70% of the world’s coffee farmers are small scale growers and they face particular disadvantages in the marketplace. Fairtrade’s mission is to make trade work for marginalised or disadvantaged producers, and therefore is a global agreement that the system should offer champion purchase of sustainable coffee from organisations of small coffee farmers explicitly.” The Foundation believes that in its 13 years of existence in the UK, Fairtrade has proven to be an extremely successful model of how people centred trade can effectively reduce poverty and improve livelihoods.

Kraft Foods, parent company of The Kenco Coffee Company, is continually working to reduce the environmental impact of its activities, preventing pollution and promoting the sustainability of the natural resources upon which it depends, while providing high quality products that meet the needs of its consumers.

There has been a noticeable change in the public’s general attitudes towards ethically sourced and sustainable products over the past decade. With an ever increasing number of businesses and local authorities putting sustainability and ethical sourcing at the heart of their corporate social responsibility, it is now more important than ever before for businesses offering hot beverage vending services to be able to show 100 per cent commitment. Beyond the accepted norm of sustainable sourcing, it is now possible to offer consumers and operators full transparency and traceability, so that they can find out exactly where and how their coffee products are produced. This adds yet another factor into the equation of which brand and blend of coffee a vending operator should choose.

The Save a Cup scheme was established by the vending, food service and plastics industries to collect the millions of hard wall polystyrene cups used in the UK every week. The scheme is run by the Save a Cup Recycling Company, the objective of which is to increase the number of cups collected in line with Government targets for recycling packaging waste.

Pronounced ‘hoff-e-mar’, the Jofemar name is largely unknown in the UK. In Spain, however, it is quite a different matter. Based in the north west of the country at Peralta, it is one of Spain’s largest manufacturers of vending machines and payment systems. Established in 1971, this privately owned business has grown from modest beginnings to today’s multinational business with five offices in Spain, three abroad and product sales in 51 countries around the globe. The ultra modern, technologically advanced factory in Peralta covers a massive 37,500 m2 and the group turns over €50 million annually.

Hotelympia runs from 28th February–4th March 2010 at ExCeL London and is organised by leading food and hospitality exhibition organisers, Fresh RM. Visitors to the show can expect to discover new ideas and solutions, access vital business information and interact with live features and world culinary competitions.

Crem International UK Ltd are exhibiting at the forthcoming show, HOTELYMPIA, London, from February 28th till March 4th showing their broadest range of machines from Instant, Freshbrew, Espresso and Bean to Cup.

A range of innovative technology solutions from Call-Systems Technology (CST) is on show at Hostec Hotelympia. Highlights include the UK’s most advanced hospitality automation system, ConnectSmart, which is demonstrated with the latest versions of its kitchen-proof hardware; and Genesis, the software package providing a complete communications solution integrating phones, mobiles, pagers and email.