Cups of hot sweet tea, packs of organic rice cakes, small bags of raisins, cheese and tomato sandwiches and drinking yogurts are just some of the products that are deemed ‘unhealthy' and are now banned from hospital vending machines in Wales thanks to new regulations introduced by Health Ministers.

AVA recently conducted a successful trial of the first in a series of training courses for vending engineers. The first course focused on drink vending's principal raw material - water. By ensuring that engineers had an in-depth knowledge of issues such as drink quality, scale, water regulations and microbiology the service they offer to vending specifiers can continue to increase in quality.

The Bunn-O-Matic Corporation recently strengthened and expanded its sales and service team.

National Vegetarian Week 2009 18-24 May 2009 is sponsored by Cauldron Foods. Cauldron Foods together with the Vegetarian Society are encouraging more people to discover the possibilities and benefits of vegetarian cooking.

Lavazza, Italy's favourite coffee, has launched its quarterly Newsletter - "GAZZETTA LAVAZZA" promoting its OCS & Vending area of the business in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Cadbury is excited to announce the launch of the Cadbury bitesize range. Activity will run from April, with strong marketing to support the launch including a new TV advert, sampling, POS and in-store merchandising, with a total investment to the value of £3m.

Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA), in partnership with Vending Management Services Limited (VMSL), is pleased to announce the upcoming pilot of their Cashless Payment System and Cashless Reconciliation Engine (CRE) for Coke Vending. Coca-Cola Amatil is launching into credit card and scheme-based debit card payments at vending machines.

A study published by Siemens Financial Services (SFS) shows that nearly three in every four firms in the UK (71.5%) have invested in energy-saving equipment, ranging from ‘greener' office facilities, technology and vehicles to manufacturing or medical equipment. Furthermore, over a half (54.9%) have acquired equipment with a reduced carbon footprint.

People with high blood pressure or heart disease should avoid consuming energy drinks, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study

Highland Spring acquires Scottish bottled water firm Speyside Glenlivet Water with immediate effect, buying it out of administration.

Lavazza, Italy's favourite coffee, has once again served dedicated fashionistas their beverage of choice at February 2009 London Fashion Week, as part of the brand's established sponsorship of the famous fashion event.

The National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) will exhibit the returning Corporate Social Responsibility Showcase at the Spring Expo in Las Vegas.

Fracino, the UK's only manufacturer of coffee and espresso machines, has supplied the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy - host of the 2012 sailing events - with a Cybercino coffee machine.

Abbeychart has introduced new temperature sensitive self-adhesive safety warning stickers which turn from plain black to display a bright red CAUTION HOT warning if the surface heats to 50°C to prevent accidental burns.

Crane Merchandising Systems, a division of Crane Co., has announced that it will close its St. Louis area manufacturing facility in order to consolidate its vending equipment manufacturing operations in Williston, SC. 

In early March workers at the London Underwriting Centre were posed with an alternative City trading question - the actual worth of their tea or coffee. Ethical Trading Day was implemented by leading drinks vending provider Seymour Valentine and supported by Mars Drinks.

The Vendia Group has won an exclusive contract with Liberation, the world's only 100% Fairtrade Nut company, to market ‘Harry's Nuts!' - the Fairtrade salted peanuts from comedian Harry Hill - through its network of 4000 vending machines operating in offices and sports clubs throughout the UK.

Did you know...

AVEX 2009 is the largest UK exhibition for the water and vending industry.

It is likely to be the catalyst of valuable opportunities which will help carry business through the next year.

With over 90% of stand space sold and a flurry of new bookings from first time exhibitors AVEX is promising to be a superb exhibition for visitors and exhibitors alike.

Seaga UK will showcase its innovative range of vending machines, including the Premium Collection, VC1100 Frozen Food Vendor, Vista Series and SlimLine model offering a unique range of value machines, for any location.

Jofemar UK, the British sales arm of leading Spanish vending machine manufacturer, Jofemar SA, will exhibit an improved and updated version of its best-selling merchandiser, the ‘Vision' on Stand D54 at AVEX 2009. Launched three years ago to great critical acclaim, the Vision was one of the first merchandisers on the market to use ‘elevator delivery' technology. There will be a total of five Vision merchandisers on the Company's stand demonstrating the versatility of this advanced machine. Also on show will be the Gourmet hot food vending machine, Iceplus, an ice cream vendor, two Coffeemar hot beverage machines and the Arctic 600 cold drinks merchandiser. Jofemar UK will additionally be showcasing its extensive range of coin mechanisms and cashless payment systems.

Nestlé Professional® Beverage Dispense Solutions is set to ‘stir up' strong interest from visitors at this year's AVEX exhibition, showcasing an impressive portfolio of mainstream and café style vending and table-top solutions, to meet every need and price point. 

Four main themes highlighting the Abbeychart stand at AVEX 09 include new ‘Green' products, a way for companies to extend equipment life, installation expertise and the introduction of an easy on-line shopping source for all vending needs.

Vivreau - the originator of the environmentally-friendly mains-fed Bottler system - is launching its latest venture, the b.blu water vending machine. The b.blu system, developed in conjunction with Waterwerkz, will revolutionise how we drink on the move. It provides a greener alternative to the heavy carbon footprint of traditional vending machines which offer pre-bottled mineral waters that have been shipped from far off sources and b.blu is the first water vending machine with an integrated recycling system.

Thirsty Planet water is a high quality spring water brand dedicated to bringing clean water to millions of people in sub Saharan Africa by working together with the charity Pump Aid.

Leading UK vending machine manufacturer Westomatic Vending Services Ltd has developed the Azure mains fed water dispenser for businesses that want to capitalize on the increasing demand for quality water products. The innovative mains fed technology was developed by Westomatic's engineers to provide operators with a business opportunity that taps into the demand for healthier lifestyles and the need for environmentally friendly vending solutions.

It's all very well receiving detailed product training and memorising flow rates and media properties, but when you're on one end of the phone and the engineer is on the other, how much are you really going to learn about his requirements? With that in mind, Aqua Cure Business Development Manager Steve Watson headed to Brontë Water Coolers Ltd in Huddersfield to meet Matt Lawton, their P.O.U. Manager. "The basic idea," says Steve, "is to go and see what he does at each site. To get a feel for what he does and to see things from the side of the people we're selling to."

A few years ago ‘Vending Genie' helped innovate the market, combining two functionalities - cashless vending and wireless management of data. With the help of a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), supply personnel are now able to remotely assess each machine's status.

Quintus Systems, a leading manufacturer of cashless payment systems, has announced the launch of an electronic bar, Max-eBar. It is an automated way for hotel guests to serve themselves with a variety of different products using their room key to charge the purchase to their room bill.

While the AVA reports that British consumers have an annual spend of £1.5bn on vend-snacks, the advent of cashless vending, smart cards or in some cases the use of the Euro, has posed new questions over the security of such measures and the increasing vulnerability of machines.

Don't let the recession kill your business - that's the message from vending security specialist Safer Systems. Whilst none of us, it seems, is immune to the devastating effects of this recession, we can make certain our business is prepared by ensuring it is operating at maximum efficiency. That means preventing it haemorrhaging between 5-8% of its operating profit - a staggering £120m for the UK vending industry.

Two of the more attractive features of hidden latching systems are the aesthetic design freedom gained by not having to worry about latch hardware intruding on the surface of an application, and the enhanced security made possible by eliminating well-defined points of attack for would-be vandals. Various mechanical and electromechanical options for incorporating hidden latching systems can also contribute their own distinct advantages of convenient, affordable space-saving remote access.

In support of The Kenco Coffee Company's move to Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM coffee, Kenco have announced a ‘text to win' consumer promotion on Kenco 9oz paper cups, Kenco Singles paper cups and Kenco In-Cup Rich and Smooth Roast lines.

After positive machine trials, Crane Merchandising Systems, CMS, is pleased to announce the official launch of the hot beverage drinks machine using 12oz cups.

Packaging manufacturer Huhtamaki has revamped its hugely successful Specialty cup design to give it a fresh NEW look!