Astra makes key appointments in sales and marketing
Coinslot June 14 - June 20 , 2013 5
Electrocoin set to make serious strides in pub Cat C markets
MANUFACTURERS
Park Avenue , 2013-style , marked a major step towards Electrocoin gaining a much bigger foothold in the pub sector in the view of John Stergides and Kevin Weir .
B uoyed by the overall busy nature of the recent Park Avenue Open Day , which his firm cohosted with UDC , John Stergides told Coinslot that the company , which had previously been synonymous with AGC , arcade and FEC pieces , was making great strides in the pub sector .
Bar X Extreme , Vegas Strip , hi-tech Mummy ’ s Money and prize vending machine Target Hunter all caught the eye , as well as the debut of Metallica Pinball . “ There ’ s been a lot of interest in the Japanese racing game Go Go Grand Prix too , because of the Yen / Pound exchange rate situation ,” explained Stergides .
Electrocoin welcomed visitors from the UK , Italy ,
Spain , Ireland the Netherlands and France and Stergides declared that he was ‘ very happy ’ with the level of interest in his outfit ’ s new products . “ I truly believe that the industry is beginning to take a step forward now and that people are beginning to have a good time again .”
He revealed that Bar X Extreme is now sold out , extra production slots are now being booked and that a community version of Vegas Strip will soon be on the market . “ We ’ re moving community gaming on with this game , and customers who already have the game as a standalone have bought into the concept . They understand what we ’ re trying to do with it and the player appeal it has .”
Electrocoin ’ s Kevin Weir , meanwhile , was quick to extol the virtues of Mummy ’ s Money , hailing it as the machine to take hitech gaming to a different dimension . “ From my point of view it must be the most attractive hi-tech machine we ’ ve ever done . The sheer number of LEDs and the ancient Egyptian-themed game content makes it a very distinctive piece . It ’ s out on test and feedback has already been excellent .”
The new community feature on Vegas Strip , meanwhile , has grabbed the industry ’ s attention in Weir ’ s opinion . He revealed : “ The game is already established , but
Astra makes key appointments in sales and marketing
INDUSTRY AMUSEMENTS LEISURE B2B COMMENT NEWSWEEK
OPEN DAY Some of the key players offer their view on the 2013 edition of the annual Park Avenue Open Day - and it ’ s a good news story for the industry . 6
JIMMY THOMAS , JOHN STERGIDES , EMANUELA VOLTA ( TECNOPLAY )
adding the community feature has widened its appeal across all sectors of the industry and feedback today has been refreshing and exciting .”
Weir predicted : “ We ’ re really going to make our mark with some serious input into the pub Cat C market in 2013 . We ’ re doing both digital and analogue and we ’ re starting to get noticed . The potential in the Cat C market is still healthy . Whilst there have been a lot of pub closures that has affected volume , we are aware of increased machine density in some pub estates , as well as new licensed premises opening , such as Wetherspoons , for example , who have committed to a rollout of new openings which routinely site six Cat C machines .”
APPOINTMENTS
Bridgend-based Astra Games , part of the Astra Gaming Group , has strengthened its sales and marketing team with three key appointments . Ben Fletcher becomes electronic gaming support analyst with immediate effect . Taking up the position of sales and marketing assistant is Ceri South ( pictured ), while Peter Swinden has been given a full-time role as business analyst .
South ’ s role , in particular , has been extended to
incorporate responsibility for the marketing of Astra ’ s products and she will be working closely with the development team . Alongside her marketing activities , she will continue her efforts in monitoring the company ’ s machine test activities .
Swinden ’ s responsibilities , meanwhile , have been extended to include the collation and distribution of test data in addition to analyses he already produces for the firm .
Astra Gaming Group CEO Zane Mersich commented : “ These appointments reflect a great deal of hard work and enthusiasm on the part of Ben , Ceri and Peter . I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of them every success in their new or extended roles .”