Leisure Play

Every Barcrest machine is sold
before it leaves the factory
Barcrest's response to
the recent legislation on
A WP machines was swift
and
decisive.
They
immediately introduced a
new range of m~chines
which delighted their
customers.
The reaction came as no
surprise to the customers,
however. They have come to
expect this sort of response
from Barcrest, one of the
world's
leading
manufacturers of high
quality fruit machines.
At their superbly
organised Ashton-under-Lyne
factory above which the blue
and gold flag of the Queen's
Award
for
Export
Achievement
proudly
flutters, there is no such
thing as a machine stockpile.
Barcrest never build for
stock. The machines leave
the assembly lines after
being factory tested and go
straight to the customers -
mainly the large operators in
the UK and carefully selected
-distributors in Europe.
During our visit work
was proceeding on six
different machines for the
UK and overseas markets.
Fifty per cent of Barcrest
production is destined for the
UK market with the rest
going abroad - mainly to
Holland, Switzerland and
Austria
Barcrest occupy 57,000
sq. ft. of the former gas
engine factory they took over
in 1974, but the building
covers 250,000 sq. ft. leaving
them ample room for
expansion. There are three
executive directors - Eric
Harley, who is London-based
and travels widely on export
business, John Marshall, who
deals mainly with production
at Ashton and UK sales and
John Wain, who is in charge
of the technical side and
research and development.
Expansion at Barcrest
has been impressive. They
started life in 1968 about a
mile down the road from the
existing factory with a dozen
• John Wain (standing) Technical Director, and engineers Lewis
Partington (right) and Gregg Wimlett.
Page Six
employees. When they moved
they occupied 16,000 sq. ft.
of the former gas engine
factory and the number of
employees had risen to 40.
Now Barcrest have 230
people working at the Ashton
factory.
Most of the Barcrest
machines sold in the UK go to
the larger operators and
distributors. In a typical year
they produce upwards of 14
new models which means the
research and development
department is constantly
working on ideas for new
machines. Members of this
highly
specialised
department are always
willing to listen to ideas from
other people at Barcrest.
John Marshall said: "New
ideas are one of the
essentials of this business.
The best technical know-how
in the world is not much use
without the right new ideas.
We tend to work as a team
here. That is the strength of
our business. We have a very
.good staff and a good staff
relationship. We try to
involve everyone."
The Barcrest people are
delighted at the enthusiasm
being shown over their latest
range of fruit machines. John
Marshall said: "We took the
view that with the increase in
stake and prize money the
whole industry would have to
re-learn the rules. We felt
that we would have a better
chance if we produced a
wide range of machines.
Although these are still early
days the reaction to the new
range has been most
encouraging. The three-year
standstill of stakes and prizes
was too long. A certain
sameness had overtaken the
machines. And with beer at
around 50p a pint the
customers were not going to
go wild at the prospect of
winning a £ 1.
"It is difficult to lose a
lot of money on an A WP
machine and it is difficult to
win a lot. Therefore the only
reason the customer plays
the
machine
is
for
amusement.
"But the new legislation
brought a breath of fresh air
to the industry. It gave us a .
• John Marshall (right Executive Director and Brian Hadley,
Production Manager).
Leisure Play - May