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COIN-OP NEWS Valley celebrates dart achievement Valley Recreation Products staged a special celebration dinner last fall to commemorate an achievement unique to the electronic dart industry: the sale of 50,000 electronic dart machines to a single distributor, NSM Aktiengesellschaft in Bingen, Germany. The 50,000th NSM-destined game rolled off Valley's Sycamore , Ill. , production line in the spring of 1993, the eightyear anniversary of the companies' relationship. "We are now well past the 55,000th game shipped to NSM and see no sign of a slow-down ," said James Griffiths, Valley's vice president of international operations. The celebration dinner, held near NSM 's headquarters (in the Frankfurt/ Weisbaden areal , was hosted by Valley president Chuck Milhem, vice president/ general manager Dick Shelton, and Griffiths. Senior NSM management, including managing director Ullrich Schulze and director of marketing Peter Kuhn, attended the dinner, as did other key management staff. The highlight of the occasion was the presentation of a foot-high, faceted lead crystal representation of a dart target etched over a dimensional globe . The handcrafted artwork , commissioned by Valley, was presented by Milhem to PLAY METER preserve equipment of historical value. In other news concerning Valley darts, the first qualifying tournament leading up to July's Valley Gold Cup took place in Phoenix last fall. Player Dart Inc. hosted the tournament for the first time. "A lot of people found out what Valley Gold is all about," said director Gary Burge. Valley's Chuck Milhem mand NSM's Ullrich Schulze beside the "I think it 's great that record-breaking dart machine. Valley offers this to their operators." Schulze; smaller replicas in anticipation of the The Valley Gold Cup is were given to those in event. It was fitted with a held in Las Vegas. The attendance. commemorative plaque top finishers there then Also on display was giving testimony to its comprise Team USA , the actual 50,000th dart significance. NSM in- which travels to Europe machine, pulled from tends to showcase the to compete against interValley's production line machine in a special national teams in the and shipped to Germany room recently created to fall. NAMA introduces software package Which products in a vending machine will make the most profits for the operator? That vexing question will be easier to answer now that the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMAl has made available a software package and supporting instruction manual. Called the "NAMA Direct Product Profitability mPPl Model for Vending Machines, " this Lotus-based spreadsheet tool measures the profit contributions of all products in a vending machine, compares them to others within that 14 machine, and then evaluates the machine in relation to others at the same or other locations. The DPP Model adjusts the retail price of each item in a vending machine for allowances, discounts, and taxes . It also factors in such items as the operating costs of handling and storing products in the warehouse; route service ; machine costs; and location commissions . The model can calculate the profit advantages or disadvantages of changes in service for locations, or for machines within each location. "Operators may find that certain products in their machines may make more money than others, even though they cost more," said Richard Geerdes , NAMA vice president of member services . "Others may find that certain products are more 'efficient' in their machines be cause of their high salesto-space-requirement." This tool costs $49.95 plus shipping for NAMA members; the non-member price is $79.95 plus shipping. To order, contact the NAMA Publications Department at 20 N. Wacker Drive , Suite 3500, Chicago, IL 606063102; (312) 346-0370. FEBRUARY 1994