IOA and MEI® plan industry road map at Mercedes-Benz meeting

Reading, UK, - The IOA Group, the UK’s largest independent machine operator, hailed its recent quarterly meeting staged at the prestigious Mercedes-Benz World in Brooklands, Surrey, hosted by MEI Group, as a 'huge success'. The internationally recognised payment systems technology manufacturer played host for the day which began with a series of meetings and industry updates, culminating in a tour of the Mercedes-Benz museum.

Reviewing the day, Peter Weir, Chief Executive of the IOA Group, said: "We are very grateful to MEI for hosting our quarterly meeting, which proved to be an enjoyable day for all involved, in such splendid surroundings. It was a productive opportunity for the IOA and MEI to meet and to explore product developments and possible strategies to deal with the very pressing issues that the industry faces. Our status as an organisation which is truly independent of other interests, continues to allow us to have wide ranging discussions with manufacturers and IP holders with total confidence. I would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to the team at MEI who worked very hard to give us all a very productive and pleasurable event."

James Boje, EMEA Vice President at MEI UK International added: "MEI has always enjoyed a good relationship with the IOA Group. The main focus from MEI’s perspective was to reaffirm those relationships and to show that MEI is more than a component supplier, but the IOA’s partner in cash management. Of particular interest were our discussions concerning the merits of a dual function coin-mech to help future proof investments whether it is a requirement for ccTalk or DES encryption.  I believe both the IOA Group and MEI benefitted from the meeting as we put faces to the names and developed a much better understanding of everyone’s key issues, concerns and interests moving forward.”   

About MEI 

MEI systems are relied upon for more than two billion transactions per week in over 100 countries. The company developed the first electronic coin mechanism in the 1960s followed by the first electronic non-contact bill acceptor, and more recently the EASITRAX Soft Count slot tracking system. MEI has the largest worldwide installed base of unattended payment mechanisms. Recently, MEI reached a milestone of selling more than five million bill acceptors and six million coin mechanisms worldwide. Its products are in widespread use in the gaming, vending, soft drink, amusement, transportation, retail, and kiosk markets. For more information on MEI and its products, visit www.meigroup.com or call +44 (0)845 0944380.

About the IOA Group 

The IOA is a nationwide group of 20 owner-managed operating companies that are dedicated to boosting the machine income of its customers. The IOA has provided the means to offer regional and national retail companies coordinated access to a highly motivated group of leading machine operators. More information on the IOA is available at www.i-o-a.com.