During the summer Anglian Water discovered raised levels of Cryptosporidium - the water-borne parasite which can cause acute diarrhoea - in water from its treatment works in Northamptonshire. A ‘boil water' notice was imposed on NN postcodes, leaving a large number of Mars Drinks' vending system customers to deal with potential health issues.

Chris Skipper, main board director at NVCS, is the new Chairman of the AVA Technical Committee. Chris brings 25 year's experience at vending's technical frontline to his new role ranging from service engineer through Operations Manager, General Manager to his current role on the NVCS board.

When Bunzl Vending Services acquired Coffee Point a year ago, the world of vending was buzzing at the news. After all, as Bunzl Managing Director Neil Dobbs said at the time: "This is an important acquisition and represents a substantial increase in the size of the vending business, making us the largest operator in the UK Vending market."

Bravilor Bonamat is scaling new heights with the BSRS200 water filter system, designed to protect hot beverage equipment from the damaging effects of limescale build-up.

On November 24th and 25th, 2008, the cream of the British vending industry will once again gather at Manchester's Old Trafford for Nivex North. The biggest and most successful one-day vending exhibition in the UK, Nivex North, now into its sixth year, will open its doors at 10am on November 25th.

Müller® UK is embarking on a new venture for Britain's best-selling yogurt brand1 with the launch of its first limited edition Fruit Corner® yogurt.

One of the UK's largest independent water cooler companies Water (for Work and Home) has won new business with three major companies for its Wellbeing Programme. The company is working with the mcch society limited - a charity supporting people with learning disabilities, autism or mental health needs across the South-east; national business software supplier 5 Star Computer Systems; and Chapel Down - the UK's largest producer of English wines.

Two new contracts have been won by Selecta to provide vending solutions to a pair of leading rail operators owned by National Express.

Vending giant N&W's appointment of Craig Jukes to the role of Technical Director has proved a forerunner to changes in the company's help desk support strategy.

Anthony Rocke, 38, has joined Bunzl Vending Services as Director of Purchasing. The appointment, the second at board level in as many months, signals BVS' determination to strengthen its senior management team and to consolidate its position as the UK's leading vending operator.

Maxibrew Freshcup is a new bulk filter coffee brewer from Marco Beverage Systems, which is programmed to dispose of stale coffee after a pre-determined time, avoid the risk of inferior quality coffee being served to customers. Marco believes that the move is an industry first, which will go a long way to improve the quality of filter coffee served out of home.

Brita is now providing Premiership Rugby Club London Harlequins with filtered water for all team training and match events.

Consumer expectations continue to grow, with 47 per cent of the population visiting a coffee shop at least once a month*. These visits really set expectations for other coffee occasions including vending, and to maintain vending usage, machines must match high street coffee shops in terms of quality, choice and cup size.

Vending.uk.net is a new Internet site designed to help run a small to medium sized vending machine re-stocking operation.

AVA reports that 5,000 route operators have now successfully completed its Basic Health and Hygiene Training Course and, having satisfactorily completed the course test, been awarded the AVA training certificate.

European vending operator Selecta has named the winners of its inaugural awards scheme designed to reward staff members for their involvement in initiatives in their local communities and communities worldwide.

The world's number one biscuit*, Oreo was launched to the Away From Home market in April this year. The chocolate flavoured sandwich biscuit is available in two pack formats: Snack Pack and Mini Tub and a £4.5million media campaign supported the brand's introduction to the UK.

Now I am the last one to decry the value of promotion - business, product or personal - but on my recent holiday in the Puglia region of the heel of Italy I saw no fewer than three large roadside poster sites advertising Pellegrino Vending. Having seen three, I assume that there were considerably more.

Müller® UK is set to re-launch Vitality® - Britain's No 2 functional yogurt and drinks brand1 - following in-depth research into consumers' attitude towards and usage of functional yogurts and yogurt drinks.

Nestlé MultiSnack has reintroduced a favourite from the eighties -  Drifter. First launched in 1980, the number two brand for Nestlé MultiSnack vending is back by popular demand from end-user customers.

Sielaff, manufacturer of quality hot beverage vendors and glass-fronted merchandisers, has announced a new range of table-top hot drinks machines under the Sielissimo brand.

The stylish Genesis B2C bean to cup and fresh brew machine from Crane Merchandising Systems (CMS) is proving to be a hit in the growing table top vending sector.

Bravilor has recently updated its popular Bolero XL423 (pictured), with a stylish, modern design featuring larger dispense buttons and a new canister locking mechanism. The non-sticking mixing system and coin operation function have also been improved.

The Kenco Coffee Company offers an extensive range of Kenco branded table top equipment that can be used in conjunction with its range of branded hot beverages. From the Kenco Singles system to the new Kenco branded AP Studio, Kenco's table top systems offer fast, efficient service combined with quality branded ingredients.

Size: 592 (h) x 321 (w) x 433 (d)

Capacity: Brewing time approx 11 seconds per cup

Throughput per hour: approx 240 cups/30 litres

Colours/Finish: Midnight Grey, Ocean Blue, Stardust White

Size: H 756mm x W 544m x D 597mm

Capacity: 230 x 7oz squat

Colours: Silver and platinum

Selections: Up to 12 drink selections

Power supply: 230 V 50 Hz

Normal power: 1300 W

Capacity: 140 capsules

Capsule management: automatic hopper system with single-dose Lavazza BLUE capsules

TABLE TOP BEAN TO CUP ESPRESSO SYSTEM

Size: 785 h x 320 w x 600 d

Models: Vega 3: Beans + 2 Soluble, Vega 4: Beans + Soluble

Selections: Vega 3: 8 selections, Vega 4: 14 selections

Size: 460 x 220 x 385mm

Capacity: 2 x 1.7 litres

Selections: Coffee only

Colours: Stainless steel with black infill

Size: 925 x 300 x 510mm

Capacity: 6 litres full brew; 3 litres half brew

Selections: Coffee and hot water

Colours: Stainless steel with matching red trim

It's no secret that the nation is more unhealthy than ever before, and that includes workers. In England, more than 24 per cent of the population is designated obese, that's twice as many as our closest heavyweight rivals in Europe - Germany. Fat brings with it a gamut of related illnesses, and the prevalence of diabetes here rose 50 per cent between 1998 and 2003.

Moving into recession?

With inflation running high and growth slow, should we be looking to raise the interest rate to reduce inflationary pressures, or lower it to stimulate growth?

When choosing vending ingredients operators are looking for products that provide a great taste for their customers as well as increasing profit margins for the business.

Eurogran UK is developing and promoting new products that reflect the new driving force that is responding to health concerns in the vended drinks market.

The Kenco Coffee Company announced earlier this year a major expansion of its work with the Rainforest Alliance, which by the end of 2008 will see 75 per cent of the beans for its entire freeze-dried coffee range, including vending, sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM farms. The move compliments recent vending launches of sustainably sourced PG tips* and Suchard Hot Chocolate**, which of both contain product sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms, and means Kenco can now offer an extensive ethically sourced, sustainably farmed range for vending.

Crane Merchandising Systems (CMS) is launching a new multi-lingual Product Configurator, set to revolutionise the vending machine ordering process for Europe.

A proposal to tackle business crime by forcing offenders to pay for losses and damage to property is only a first step to protecting small firms, warns the Forum of Private Business (FPB). Following its 2008 crime survey, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) revealed that business crime has increased by more than £2 billion since 2004, from £10.5 billion to £12.6 billion.

Innovative soft drinks maker, The Feel Good Drinks Company, has launched Feel Good Kids, a new range of fruit drinks aimed at children which is claimed to fill a gap in the market.

Metro Drinks has re-launched its Juice patrol range to comply with the requirements of the Schools Food Trust. Each of the three new flavours is made with 51 per cent fruit juice and fruit puree, blended with pure spring water plus a little extra vitamin C.

The EVA described the objective of the conference as being to update the vending industry on the world of payment today (and tomorrow), so that it can make better, more informed choices and better deliver its strategy.

The EVA will hold its next Operators' Forum in Munich on November 7th, to be hosted by the BDV, the German Vending Association. In the wake of successful, previous meetings, some of the issues up for discussion by European operators will include: the financing of machine; theft and fraud; sales and marketing tips for operators; and other issues connected with increasing efficiency and reducing costs.