Much is said in the industry about new green machines, with all sorts of energy saving devices built in, from power saving systems for periods when the machine is quiet, to LED lighting to save power. All very worthy initiatives, but how much of it really is green and how much of it is marketing hype to sell more machines?

One thing that is difficult, if not impossible to quantify, is how long it takes to save the energy that is used to create the machine in the first place. If you are in the market for a  machine that 'has' to be new then it makes sense to buy the most efficient, but what if you just want a machine that works and does what you want it to? Does it make sense in that case to buy new?

There are options, other than new, which could be greener. Second hand machines may not be as economical to run as the new 'green' machines, but by buying second hand you are not increasing demand for the energy used in manufacturing the new one. Refurbishing a machine also uses less energy than making it in the first place.

Transportation is also expensive in energy terms and as many machines are imported into the UK, it makes green sense to use something that is already here.

Experience has also shown that apart from a small number of machines, the newer machines have a lower build quality than the earlier ones, and consequently a shorter life which means they will need replacing sooner. Does anybody remember the days of the Sankey Mk7 and the Starline? Compare the quality of those machines compared to the likes of the Mistral, Meridian and Sirocco.

So, ignoring cosmetic appearance and cost, there is a case for buying used, or keeping the older equipment running longer.

Your comments would be welcome

 

The sort of thing I mean is the Sex and the City promotion currently on Galaxy Caramel.

If you are selling, have promotions made any difference to your sales?

If you are buying, have you bought more because of this or any other promotion?

In my case they don't seem to make any difference at all to sales levels, and as a buyer I'm not likely to buy more of something just on the offchance of a win.

What is the next number in this sequence and why?

1. 2. 5. 10. 20. 50. ?

Answers on the back of a £20 note to ...........

A report, published at the beginning of May by Plimsoll Publishing,  analyses  the trends in vending and suggests that  1 in 5  automatic vending companies are heading for bankruptcy.

Drawing on data from the top 402 companies in the UK, it finds that declining sales are causing problems for a third of companies.   Short term financing has been needed by almost a third as  cashflow isn't keeping pace with costs.  Two thirds of companies are suffering from reduced margins, and overe a third are currently running at a loss.

The credit crunch  appears to have hit the vending industry quite hard and some deep thinking is going to be needed to get through these troubled times.

For an insight into vending in the United States.

http://www.vendiscussforums.com

A really friendly group, and well worth joining.

May

Sunday 18th -  Monday 19th.  CAMA EXPO 2008. Vancouver, Canada
+1  888 849 2262  www.vending-cama.com


Wednesday 21st -  Thursday  22nd.  Caffe Culture.  Olympia, London
Upper Street Events  +44 (0)20 7288 6191  www.caffeculture.com


Wednesday  21st -  Saturday 24th.  Venditalia. Milan, Italy
Venditalia  +39  02 3310  5685  www.venditalia.com

Copper wire was discovered by two vending company owners fighting over a penny.


A vending company owner and an engineer fell down a cliff. Which one reached the bottom first?


The engineer because he didn't have to stop to ask directions.

To Peter Best and his team at Abbeychart Ltd for organising a great day out on the North Yorkshire Moors Steam Railway.

The weather was kind to us and all had a good time on the trip, which was organised in aid of  Macmillan Cancer Support, and I hope that plenty of wallets were prised open and loads of cash collected for this worth cause.

Along the way we saw two more locos in steam, No. 4771 and Sir Nigel Gresley.

Also along the way we saw this unique holiday accomodation set in a stunning location.

All in all it was a super day and my grandchildren enjoyed their first trip on a train and it was a proper train at that.

Once again a big thank you to Abbeychart.

I had a call today to repair a damaged can vendor. The machine was on a building site and the lexan panel was cracked.  It's not unusual in the vending business.

The machine was damaged by a worker from a sub-contracting company.  He lost his job because of it.  The sub-contracting company came close to losing the work which would have put more jobs on the line. The sub-contracting company  are standing the cost of replacing the lexan panel.

All for the sake of a £1 coin.

On Saturday, 26th April it will be full steam ahead. I've got tickets to  a trip on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, courtesy of Abbeychart Ltd.,  a supplier of components to the vending industry.

This family day out includes a trip behind locomotive No. 45212 which is owned by Peter Best, the founder of Abbeychart. The day is in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, and there will be fundraising events on the day.

Free tickets are on a first come, first served basis and are limited to 5 per family. Contact Theresa at Abbeychart for more info.

01367 711900 or email abbeychart@abbeychart.co.uk

http://www.abbeychart.co.uk/index.htm 

I'm hoping for good weather and I'll let you know how the day went.

The new forum is now up and running. Please drop in with any questions, comments, advice, or whatever you feel like contributing.
 
http://www.emcarvendingmachinesandparts.co.uk/userimages/forum.htm

I've  just come back from a few days away at Haggerston Castle in Northumberland, and the rest was wonderful.

Haggerston Castle is a beautiful park and in the grounds there is a Victorian walled garden which had been neglected for many years.

Recently work has started on restoring this garden to it's original glory. Last year I managed to get a look at the ongoing work, and here are some photographs showing the size of the task ahead.

I didn't get chance to see the progress this year, but hope to when I go back later. 

We'll be taking a short break until Saturday 19th April.


I'll be keeping an eye on emails but replies might be a little slow.


Once I'm back I'll get the forum up & running.

We will shortly be adding a forum to discuss all things vending,  machines, maintenance, or whatever you want to discuss related to vending . Keep your eyes peeled for it.

We have just taken delivery of two Sankey Mistral freshbrew tea hot drinks vending machines.

They will be refurbished over the course of the next few weeks, so if you are interested in one, let me know because they won't be around long.

We are closing today until Tuesday Morning and looking forward to some time off as we've been very busy recently.

We hope you have an enjoyable time over the Easter Break.