When David Bellis made the industry's first low-cost bank note validator, little did he know that his 'hobby' would turn into an international manufacturing company with offices worldwide. Helen Fletcher spoke with managing director Aidan Towey to find out how Innovative Technology has grown and what the industry can expect in the future...

Innovative Technology started life in a small factory owned by David Bellis. He wanted to make a bank note validator for under £100, at a time when the industry standard sold for around £300. Why, you ask? Well, because at the time the £1 coin had boosted takings in the gaming industry by 20 per cent and Bellis reasoned that if bank note validators could be accepted this should again boost takings.

However, at £300 a go, the capitol cost of validators was too expensive to fit to amusement or gaming machines and so the Smiley was born.

Since then the UK-based company has gone from strength to strength and the group as a whole employs 120 people with just over half focused on research and development, at the original office, in Oldham, UK.

But the journey so far hasn’t necessarily been an easy one and just 14 months ago all manufacturing was moved to China and Brazil. This was a tough decision for the company as it meant losing valuable members of staff at its UK factory but, as managing director Aidan Towey explains, it was a necessary move in order to keep up with competitors.

"There was a certain reluctance in the beginning to take the manufacturing abroad and we actually waited five years before we had no other choice but to make the move, even though it meant losing 55 members of staff," he said. "We also had all sorts of concerns with regard to the speed at which we could deliver products to clients. However, because of the economic climate if we wanted to keep up with our competitors it was a move that had to be made.

"We have found, however, that we have been able to continue to meet the demands of the industry and this is, in part, due to the fact we have sales offices around the world. Moving the manufacturing abroad has also allowed us to double the research and development department in the UK, which is really the heart of the business."

Innovative Technology has a strong presence throughout Europe and one of the reasons behind this is the flexibility of its products. "Our products are manufactured in a simple manner so the sales office can then take them to their client in the way that they need it," said Towey.

The company is also continuing to increase its presence in the US after it designed a product specifically for the market. "US manufacturers were reluctant to use us for a while as there are other companies over there that are much more established," he said. "The machines also have different requirements to those in Europe meaning that a very specific validator had to be developed."

Innovative Technology provides a number of cash handling models suitable for the gaming and amusement industry but the two products that have really performed well are the NV200 bill acceptor for the gaming industry and the BV20 bill acceptor for low cost amusement products. When talking about cash handling systems in general for the gaming and amusement industry, for Towey, the sector hasn’t really moved on and there have been no major advancements with regard to technology.

"People haven’t been innovative enough," he said. "We, as a sector, need to look at ways we can deliver the product differently to companies and the two areas that really need to be looked at are cost and innovation.

"Many products differ in price by just one or two euros, when what we need is a E50 or E100 difference between products to really create that competition and get companies thinking of new ways in which to provide cash handling solutions."

This is the one thing that Innovative Technology keeps in mind when developing products - quality at an affordable price - and when it comes to the age old argument of cash versus cashless in the gaming industry, Towey told InterGame: "There is always room for different technologies within the gaming industry and newer technologies, in my opinion, should be incorporated into old. Cashless systems will find their place within the industry and there will always be those who wish to remain anonymous and so cash will continue.

"TITO has been the biggest change to the way cash is handled," he continued. "And has probably had the most devastating effect on the coin-op business - it will start to affect more locations as it becomes more available."

As Towey sees smaller companies within the sector eaten up by bigger companies and then these companies eaten by even bigger companies, what does he see for the future and Innovative Technology’s position within it?

"I do worry that as bigger companies take over, innovation and choice will be taken away," he said. "But as far as we are concerned we are aiming to get back to the number one position within the sector by bringing new products to the market all the time and setting ourselves targets that are achievable yet push us."