As a first time visitor to Avex, Trafficmaster's Nick Chandler is testimony to the show's success: "AVEX has managed to get us exposure and a foothold into the vending market. We have actual appointments and over 50 leads. Great ROI!" he told the vending press.

Mark Rhodes from Westomatic meanwhile, was refreshingly honest about his reservations: "I was an AVEX sceptic but we have been rushed off our feet. The first day was phenomenal. AVEX 2009 has been great value for money," he said.

Steven Bane of Safer Systems spoke for us all when he said: "In recessionary times it is fabulous to see that there is still good life in the vending industry."

And indeed there is. As my first foray into the show, I was impressed by the energy and commitment shown by each and every exhibitor - visitors seemed to be having a great time and although there was serious business to discuss, I have no doubt that it was the sense of fun that kept footfall constant throughout.

Coffee shop quality

I had a fascinating chat with Freider Steigler from rheavendors servomat upon arriving. With a background in marketing Freider was a successful Vending Operator for 17 years, eventually selling the business to Selecta, which has gone on to become one of the largest operators in Europe. A product innovator, in the early 90s Freider moved to Milan where rheavendors accepted his proposal to produce an instant machine to a "very special configuration".

He then returned to Germany where he presented this new concept and taste to his former colleagues in vending. "The coffee quality was absolutely different from the coffee before - for the first time the milk was mixed in, creating a cream coffee rather than the usual black or muddy white. In Italy they had been enjoying creamy, frothy coffee in cafes for years so I decided to bring this concept to the vending industry in Germany, calling it the CappuCino. I then went on to invent the MoccaCino for vending machines."

Today we take it for granted that these two very popular drinks appear on machine selection panels up and down the country, so it was interesting to find out exactly how this came to be.

MD of Servomat Steigler in Germany and rheavendors servomat UK with management responsibility for marketing, service and sales, Freider has a 50/50 split with rheavendors and says it is the second biggest vending manufacturer in Europe, with two other companies under its umbrella.

I was shown the CINO machine, which Freider believes was, about 7 years ago, the first ‘real' table top machine in the industry, setting the benchmark. 400,000 of these machines have been sold worldwide with the help of Nestlé, a very good customer. Incredibly stylish, they can be branded for any customer and being modular in design, configured without the need for tools thus requiring minimal maintenance and space.

"Other standard vending machines are very complicated," said Freider, adding that it takes just a minute to replace a part on the CINO. Following on from the success this machine, the CINO XS Grande was created: "With more capacity and selections."

The CINO XS GRANDE offers two varieties of coffee: the classic coffee bean for Espresso based drinks, mild and aromatic to taste, a milky coffee or MoccaCino; and a smart mix of both types to create exclusive recipes, like in a coffee shop. Two drink sizes are also available - the traditional cappuccino in small cups or the option to create larger to go drinks. It also boasts two brewing systems: Presso Bean - coffee beans freshly ground for a creamy espresso coffee and Speed Mix - a mix of instant coffee and other instant products in 12-15 seconds, to create a typical Italian cappuccino or a dense and creamy chocolate. The machine offers: MoccaCino, Cappuccino, Espresso Macchiato, Espresso, Black Coffee, White Coffee, Latte Macchiato, Hot Chocolate and Hot Water.

The CINO creates a real sense of exclusivity and a demonstration of the Latte Macchiato was a moment of pure theatre as a visually stunning, delicious drink was produced for all to see.

Doing well despite the downturn, Freider added: "Smaller machines are taking off because of - not despite - the financial constraints and this can be used to advantage. There has been a huge take up of these machines in garage showrooms, workplaces, bars and cafes where, though increasingly mindful of cost, style is the driving force."

Avex used as a showcase

As a serious coffee drinker, Lavazza has always been one of my favourites so I made a beeline to their stand to see what was new. I was pleased to find the company using AVEX as a showcase for its latest products. For example, the LB220, a top performer which offers reliability and convenience for the daily coffee break at work and the new LB2300, a reinterpretation of the LB2200 with technical and aesthetic upgrades, including a hot water option to prepare non coffee products.

The latest member in the table top family is the Brio, which reinforces Lavazza's range for larger working environments with a choice of quality hot beverages. All Lavazza Blue machines are synonymous with the ultimate Italian coffee experience at the push of a button. Said a spokesperson: "It is the only vending brand able to guarantee an excellent cup of coffee through the use of protective and sealed Lavazza Blue capsules."

Meeting all the main players

Having enjoyed a full caffeine fix, I moved onto NRI who make payment vending systems for transportation, gaming and parking. "We offer a complete payment solution," said Mark Simmons, UK and Overseas Sales manager. The Currenza offers coin, note and cashless within one machine, while the Currenza C2 recently won a Red Dot Design Award - both of which are well worth checking out.

Britvic's Customer Development Manager for Vending, James Dunn, enjoyed the show immensely, he said it was great to be able to see the industry's main players in one room, meet new prospects and talk to everyone he wanted to in just a couple of days. "In twelve years this has been my most productive UK based show," he said.

Boost agreed that the show had been phenomenal success. Supplying high energy drinks and smoothies, National Account Manager Phil Richardson said: "Phenomenal. A great show. Every product we sell vends. We are an independent company for independent retail. This is our first vending show and it has been great."

Paul Whittaker, Regional Account Manager for Mars said the show had been spot on, talking me through the merger with Wrigley's and showing me some of the brand's latest products including the delicious Galaxy Cookie Crumble. The stand was packed with enthusiastic visitors throughout, confirming Mars as a firm favourite within vending.

Stunning stands

Kettle Chips were also pleased with what AVEX had to offer: "It's been a good show. We are really grabbing market share - we have done a lot of business and will definitely be back in two years," said Matthew Rounding, Regional Business Manager.

An absolute chocoholic I couldn't leave without first nipping over to the Cadbury stand, which looked absolutely amazing - it certainly had something of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory about it that's for sure! Kate Roberts was very impressed with what the show had to offer. She told me: "This is the first AVEX we have done purely on product. We have been well received, there has been a great vibe - it's been fantastic."

Multiple Marketing also reported a great response - putting a lot of its success down to the location, as being in Birmingham they were able to receive loyal customers from Ireland. Great motorway links also made travelling to the show easier from a lot of locations within the UK. The stand featured healthy drinks and snacks designed for the school market. "Where other manufacturers have suffered because of healthy eating legislation, we have gained ground," said a spokesperson. "We have had a fantastic response and met a lot of new clients - we are rising to the demand for healthy food and drinks."

Offering refrigeration, repair and refurbishment services developed to eliminate third party transportation issues and the headache of on-site repairs, Phil Elliot MD of Booth said the show had been: "Better than expected."

Al Brown of Bon Appetit was over the moon at the response - reporting 100 visits to the stand on the final day. The company offers Air Blast frozen food, which is shot with cold air so that there is no ice build up. "We are to some extent, recession proof, as people will always need to eat," said Al. "At the last AVEX we won an innovation award. We were the busiest small stand in 05 and 07 and now we are larger, we have had 250 leads already from the show. Bon Appetit's award winning hot food vending service provides hot, tasty food, 24/7 at a saving, claims the company, of 90% of a conventional canteen."

Adam Fahn from Vendesent has been in vending for 41/2 years, but has just brought something new to the market. With a neatly packaged toothbrush, toothpaste, toothpick and chewing gum pack that can be custom printed according to location, this product is sure to sell well - it is currently available from the Vending Corporation, Jofemar and Seaga.

NIVO had a fantastic two days, meeting their members and suppliers. "We also spoke to many other potential members and suppliers who we look forward to meeting up with in the near future. The event was a great success and a great opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with our industry colleagues. We now look forward to our next exhibition at Vendex 2009 (incorporating NIVEX) on 1st December 2009 at Old Trafford Football Ground in Manchester. Well done to all the organisers involved," said Michelle Darker, Partnership Administrator.

What a show!

The Organisers (Automatic Vending Association) congratulated exhibitors on the quality of stands. "They had used creativity and imagination rather than large budgets to achieve great looking stands. Competitions and demonstrations all added to the lively atmosphere."

Every element of the industry was represented and taking advantage of the unique potential that AVEX offered, the show attracted some new companies outside mainstream refreshment vending including an alcohol breath testing machine, electronic cigarettes and a new video machine backed by Universal and Sony. All this added to the visitor interest and excitement.

The seminar programme running throughout the two days proved very popular and the attendance levels endorsed how relevant these exhibitors and visitors were.

The EPDWA partnered the AVA for AVEX 2009 and their members were so enthused by the response that they have already asked about the next AVEX. At an EVA press conference held during the last day of the show it was announced that the EPDWA are joining forces with the EVA. As the AVEX experience has shown, there are synergies to be gained by working together with complementary associations.

Considering the economic climate, the success of the show simply cannot be argued with and as the global financial situation improves, we can look forward to even bigger and better things in 2011.

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

Bookmark this

---