It was like a royal visit on the east coast of England this week as UDC took up residence at the Park View Hotel in Skegness for its annual ECAS expo, whilst also taking in a walk-about of venues to see its machines in action. The show and tour programme proved yet another success for the distributor and its partnering group of businesses who joined the event.
It’s one of the most appreciated shows on the industry calendar as UDC takes its portfolio on the road alongside a group of fellow amusements machines and service business roadies.
And it was two days of quality engagement and machine talk in Skegness.
Jonathan Lauder, UDC’s sales director, was buoyant about the event telling Coinslot: “It was a wonderful few days at ECAS this year. It followed strong on our experiences of recent years; and it was great to see so many familiar faces in Skegness. We loved catching up with our valued customers, hearing what they’ve been up to, and introducing them to our new releases. Another great ECAS done, we look forward to it again next year.”
UDC’s travelling show is an excursion with a difference: “ECAS is definitely a case of quality over quantity, with dozens of visitors rather than hundreds that we see at larger events,” explained Lauder. “ECAS enjoys a relaxed atmosphere, the event is designed to cater to a select group of businesses in the region, dedicating quality time to everyone who comes through the door. Everyone gets the VIP treatment and time that they deserve to demonstrate our wares. The larger exhibitor line-up seemed to go over well with visitors giving them more to discover and talk about.”
Away from the show, UDC also took the opportunity to put in a visit to its customers to view the performance of its machines on showfloors, as MD Mark Horwood proudly confirmed: “We’ve been out and about in Skegness visiting customers and seeing many of our machines in action.”
But it was product that was top of the agenda and UDC were very strong on their offering at ECAS. Of particular interest was the Galaxy Hunter redemption pusher from the same stable as the hugely successful Tornado game.
UDC’s ‘Vibe’ range of change machines, which they describe as “powerful and flexible”, courted attention as did the Balloon Carnival ball toss ticket redemption game which has proved to be a strong earner. And new for this year was the Colour Auto compact 4 player circular crane with a colourful LED marquee, rotating playfield with two prize zones which can be programmed independently from each other. And another striking, or striping, offering was the zebra striped Rush & Catch game which Lauder noted, “is always a fun machine to watch players ride with its jockey style motion, a family favourite video game that can be operated with or without tickets.”
