Casino Enterprise Management

LONDON — England’s capital city in late January may be cold and dank, but for the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM), it was warm and sunny.

The big news for AGEM at the annual ICE trade show at Earls Court was the announcement of Tracy Cohen as the organization’s new director of Europe and the opening of an AGEM Europe office to serve the organization’s growing membership base there.

With 17 of AGEM’s 110 member companies based in Europe and another dozen with significant operations there, the AGEM Europe office in north London will serve as the central contact point for current European-based members and prospective new members that want to align with an organization that represents the best suppliers in the global gaming industry.

Cohen currently serves as marketing manager for TCSJOHNHUXLEY, an AGEM-member company based in the U.K. With 11 offices worldwide, they offer a combination of manufacturing strength with innovation and product development—from quality, hand-crafted furniture to cutting edge technical products that have become benchmarks to the industry. With more than 20 years of experience in the gaming industry, Cohen will serve in a part-time role for AGEM and continue her position for TCSJOHNHUXLEY overseeing trade shows and events, public relations, advertising, sales and marketing communications, and product launch activities.

“The opening of an AGEM Europe location will allow us to better serve all global suppliers by having closer contact with a key business region for our members and our European casino customers,” says Thomas A. Jingoli, AGEM president and chief compliance officer for Konami Gaming. “Tracy is well respected throughout gaming and motivated to serve as our eyes and ears in Europe, so that AGEM is better equipped to address any issues that affect a broad range of suppliers there.”

“I’m delighted to have been asked to head up the European office for AGEM,” Cohen says. “It’s a great honor, and I’m looking forward to working with and supporting the members in the region as well as building the AGEM brand and promoting it throughout Europe and beyond.”

Heralded as the perfect candidate who has already earned the respect of the European supplier sector, Cohen and her appointment created a buzz at Earls Court that was remarkably positive and enthusiastic. AGEM was well represented at a meeting of more than a dozen supplier companies the day before the trade show opened. This gathering was a follow-up to a similar meeting of suppliers prior to G2E in November, and was further evidence of a new spirit of cooperation among companies that spend most of their energy competing against each other.

What the suppliers are in complete agreement about is their desire to help shape the global trade show circuit. When you think about what is on a trade show floor, start with the slot machine companies and then go down the list of those companies that make table games, bill validators, ticket printers, touchscreens, systems technology, chairs, playing cards and all of the other gadgets and components that keep the gaming industry running. In total, the suppliers spend tens of millions of dollars to exhibit at trade shows around the world, and a good portion of that money produces a big fat profit for the organizers.

In general, the trade show landscape is a win-win arrangement that brings buyers to products and creates business. AGEM and its members have strong relationships with trade show organizers around the world, but what has been missing is a formal way to provide important collective feedback and create constructive dialogue. Now, for the first time, we introduce the AGEM Trade Show Index, displayed here, that summarizes hundreds of anonymous responses from AGEM-member companies for major global trade shows over the past year. The same questions were asked of those who exhibited at the various shows (plus an occasional custom question about a reception or special event) and then the results were shared with organizers to thank them for being responsive or prod them to focus on an area that needs improvement.

Simply put, when organizers ponder significant issues related to their show—rates, dates, venues, booth selection, electrical, drayage, food and beverage, general contractors, you name it—the suppliers deserve to be consulted and part of the overall discussion that will ultimately help improve the show for everyone.

Speaking for AGEM, ICE was a successful show and the major suppliers are in agreement that as long as Earls Court remains a viable venue, then there’s not a good business reason to consider alternative venues or cities for the main European show. Now that Cohen is on board in Europe and the suppliers are communicating more often and better than ever, I expect more consensus and good feelings ahead.

Marcus Prater is Executive Director of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM). He may be reached by e-mail at AGEM.org[at]cox.net or by phone at (702) 812-6932. The association’s website is www.AGEM.org.