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April 1, 1981
volume 7, N umber 6
Manufacturers organize
CHICAGO- A trade association
was formed February 10 by a
number of manufacturers of coin-
operated amusement devices.
The charter members of this
association, which is named the
Amusement Device Manufacturers
Association (ADMA), are Stern
Electronics, Inc.; Atari Inc .; Williams
Electronics, Inc.; Rock-Oia Manu-
facuring Corp.; Gremlin Industries,
Inc.; Exidy, Inc.; D. Gottlieb & Co.;
Game Plan , Inc .; Cinematronics,
Inc .; Taito America Corp.; Centuri,
Inc .; and U.S. Billiards, Inc.
The association's board of
d irectors consists of Joseph
Robbin s, Atari ; Michael Stroll ,
Williams Electronics; Gary Stern ,
Stern Electronics; Donald Rockola ,
Rock -Oia Manufacturing; Dwayne
Blough, Gremlin Industries; H.R.
Kauffman , Exidy; and Robert Bloom,
Gottlieb.
At the February 10 meeting, the
board of directors of the newly-
formed ADMA elected as its officers
Joseph Robbins, president; Michael
Stroll, vice president; and Robert
Bloom, treasurer.
According to an association
spokesman, the board of directors
will h ire a full -time executive
secretary and retain a general
counsel, all this happening "within a
very fast time frame ."
The purposes of the association
include "diligently representing the
manufac turers of coin -operated
amusement devices in the areas of
legislation , governmental and
industrial regulations, and public
relations. "
" Th e association will fully
cooperate with all corresponding
organizations in other parts of the
industry," an association statement
read , " including those of the
operators and the distributors."
All companies which manufacture
coin-operated amusement devices in
the United States are invited to join
the association by contacting any of
the above manufacturers for details.
According to the ADMA spokesman,
the association plans to raise the
necessary funds for its operations
through membership dues. Member-
ship will apparently be restricted to
amusement machine manufacturers
only.
"I think it's a well-needed thing for
the manufacturers to work in all
these various areas ," the association
spokesman added.
The spokesman would not
elaborate, but the association's most
immediate and pressing issues
appear to be on two fronts : (1)
dissociating coin -op amusement
machines from gambling and
pseudo-gambling machines and (2)
continued on page 2
Ed Shaffer dies at 67
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ed Shaffer,
president of Shaffer Distributing,
died suddenly February 3 at age 67.
A company spokesman said Shaffer
had apparently been in good health
and had a good medical history.
Shaffer had been in his family 's
coin operation and distributorship
for nearly 50 years and had bought
full ownership in 1954 from his
parents.
Ed Shaffer is survived by his wife,
Dorothy; mother, Mrs . Ada Shaffer;
a daughter, Mrs. Jeanne Farmer, all
of Columbus; and sons, Dr. Edward
E. Shaffer of Denver, and Steven
Shaffer, vice president of marketing
for the distributorship .
Having woked on the Shaffer
Music Co. coin machine route
during high school and college years,
Ed Shaffer began in the business full -
time in 1932. From that period of
counter top pingame and jukebox
operating, the ·Shaffers ' coin
business grew into a multi-state
operation from its Columbus base.
During World War II, the firm be
came a rebuilding operation during
the period of scarce equipment.
After the war, the firm went into
solely distributing. See burg was then
its line, and later it also handled pool
tables.
Today having an additional office
in Macedonia, Ohio, Shaffer
Distributing's lines include Rowe,
Bally, Gottlieb, Stern , Midway,
Valley, UBI, and other table and
vending lines. Ed Shaffer has stated
that the company's vending sales in
recent years have been as strong as
the music and games areas.
In the development of the family's
coin business, Ed Shaffer has been
recognized by industry people as
adaptive to changes in the industry
and aggressive in his work. He
reflected the drive and foresight of
his father, Estel "Pop" Shaffer, who
had recognized coin -ope r ated
counter games as revenue producers
during the Great Depression and
sold his pharmacy in Columbus to
become a full -time coin operator.
At the time of Ed Shaffer's death,
Shaffer Distributing was active in all
the major cities of Ohio as well as
West Virginia and Kentucky and had
become one of the largest U.S. coin
machine distributorships.
Funeral services for Ed Shaffer
were held Friday, February 6, at
Shoedinger Funeral Chapel ,
Columbus.
Estel Shaffer, founder of the firm
and a coin man since 1929, died in
November at the age of 87.
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