How did you first get involved with the amusements industry?

I first got involved in at the age of 16 in 1986, when I was at college studying electronics. Part of the course involved spending time in a working environment. My placement was at Ace Coin Equipment in Oldbury, near Birmingham, working for Tony and Pat Marsh. My role was to make coffee, repair System 1 boards and then make more coffee for everyone.

In the four years I was at Ace, my apprenticeship covered all aspects of the industry including unloading lorries, distribution, roadshows, rebuilding machines, “greening” machines, and helping out in Playtime, Ace Coin’s operation company.

It was a good industry grounding to understand machines and how they worked technically.

What attracted you to this sector?

Albeit it’s a serious business, but it is the gaming and amusement industry...

How has it changed since then?

Certainly it has changed. Back then the UK market was very buoyant. UK manufacturers were developing export markets. The Spanish market became very attractive, as did the Norwegian market.

Gaming was conducted in public – in arcades, pubs and so on. Home gaming only came about as the technology base, including the Internet, has been developed.

But technology has played a vital part in the growth and development of games around the world. Gaming brands have spread across the globe and penetrated markets that 20 years ago were only served by autonomous manufacturers.

What are the biggest positive factors for the sector right now – the drivers of growth and development?

Technology has played a significant part in the way games are presented. As an example, Ace Coin was one of the first to show reels on a screen (with Side Winder). Then, 15 years ago, Maygay continued to develop the genre by mixing both reel and video (with Screenplay). Today video-based games dominate the industry.

Games are the core competence – manufacturers now outsource cabinets, technology and so on. It is now acknowledged that it is the game that is the competitive advantage.

And what are the negative ones – the obstacles to growth?

While technology has played a positive part in the industry, it has also diluted the machine-playing public by offering more choice and new avenues to gamble. For the non-forward-thinking traditional manufacturer, this has sealed their fate.

Legislation still plays a fundamental part in the industry. Markets can open and close overnight. Nothing has changed here.

Looking at your whole career, what do you reckon was your smartest move, large or small?

My smartest move was working at CMS in Gloucester for two years and then moving to Heber.

And your dumbest one?

No comment...

Where do you hope you’ll be, professionally, in ten years’ time?

Running a company offering solutions to OEMs in the U.S. and Europe.

And finally...if you’d never embarked on this career, what other line(s) of work would you have liked to pursue?

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