Helen Fletcher discovers what has changed at Valley Dynamo following its recent buyout by Champion Shuffleboard owner Kelye Stites earlier this year

Valley-Dynamo, based in the US, is one of the oldest coin-operated pool table manufacturers in the world - starting life in the early 40s and originally named Valley Toys.

Company founder Earl Feddick produced his first coin-op pool table in 1949 - renaming the company Valley Recreation Products at the same time.

These original tables were 6ft and rather boxy and unattractive compared to today’s models. Feddick had two rules, which all Valley staff must abide by - build the best products of their kind and teach your customer how to use them.

While the product has changed significantly over the years these rules still apply today and Valley-Dynamo, as the company is now known following a merger of Valley with a company called Dynamo in 1999, has gone on to acquire a name for itself for providing high quality, superior play characteristics and longevity in its products, around the world.

Valley’s first international sales were to its neighbour to the north, Canada, with the UK, Germany and Spain following next. According to Link Pendley, president of International Billiard Products, which handles all Valley’s international business, it has always been important to the manufacturer to mirror the quality of its products by using the very best distributor - such as the UK’s Crown Leisure, Bilijardexperten and Pelika Net Oy in Scandinavia and Billares Teofilo in Spain and Portugal to name just a few.

Using local distributors is the best way for manufacturers to get an idea of the market, player trends and operator requirements as they change from country to country. "Sometimes these requirements are the result of something as simple as difference in rules for playing the game," said Pendley.

"For example, the game of eight ball is played in Costa Rica. All of the pubs have pool tables but they were all non-coin tables charged by the hour. The reason for this was a rule that stated that in eight ball both the number one ball and the number eight ball have to be pocketed in specific pockets. If they go in a different pocket they must be spotted. So we developed number one balls and number eight balls that would separate with our cue balls so they could be spotted if necessary.

"This allowed us to enter that market and ultimately grab the bulk of market share. Many countries have various laws, regulations, permit requirements and other things that affect coin operation as well as importing, licensing, taxation and more - some of it can be remedied by operators and some by manufacturers if they are willing to take the necessary steps. We are very proactive in this regard and often custom tailor our products and relationships for certain markets."

##image2##

In order to keep supplying such a high level of product it is essential to Valley-Dynamo that it has complete control over what leaves the warehouse. During a three-year period when Brunswick Billiards owned the company manufacturing was moved to Mexico, while executive offices and warehousing remained in Texas. This, according to Pendley, made quality difficult to manage long distance and there were a number of issues.

When Stites bought Valley-Dynamo in May of this year, this was one of the first changes he made - moving the factory back to Texas.

"This was no small undertaking," said Pendley, "over 100 truckloads of equipment were moved from Mexico to Richlands Hills, Texas. The new factory resides next door to Champion and less than one block from the original factory. Production was set up and quality products were once again being built in Texas by September."

The mandate is to not let any substandard product leave the building - everything must be right. Stites has owned Champion for over nine years and is the son-in-law of Bill Rickett, former owner of Dynamo Ltd and Valley-Dynamo, so is familiar with the Valley-Dynamo product line.

"He is the best possible owner that Valley-Dynamo could have at this moment in time," said Pendley. "He continues to emphasise that quality is our number one priority and that if we get that right everything else will work. I concur with this strategy and continue to pass this message on to our international customers."

International Billiard Products was already managing Champion’s international sales and as Pedley had previously been vice-president of Valley’s international department, Stites concluded it would be in the company’s interest to have Pendley manage its international sales as well.

This association introduces a number of new countries and potential customers to Valley-Dynamo’s future international sales opportunities.

The total number of employees at the factory is now between 60 and 70, down from a peak of around 150 when the economy was much better.

"We have the ability to bring in trained workers quickly as our production increases," said Pendley. "The table sports segment of our industry has been the most stable part for many years and while videos have come and gone again and again and music continues to evolve with technology, table games are a constant."

##image3##

Valley-Dynamo has never rested on its laurels and has always worked to improve its products and to support the operators that use them. In 1980 the company implemented the Valley National Eight Ball Association, run entirely by coin-op operators and designed to drive business into locations while protecting the operators.

From an international perspective, one of the most significant moments for the manufacturer was the hiring of James Griffiths away from Brunswick Bowling in Asia. Griffiths was already well known internationally and set up Valley’s international department.

Valley also set up the Specialised Program for Operator Training, which was designed originally for international markets but has since been implemented in the US as well.

According to Pendley, who came up with the idea, he wanted to try and teach operators how to get the maximum performance and revenues out of the products, as well as how to correctly handle, set up and maintain the equipment.

Valley’s vision for the future is clearly focused on growth and it is committed to developing new product (see our product pages for Valley’s latest product offering) and scouting for new countries. "It is our desire to bring our products to every possible market in the world," said Pendley.