Article

The neon kiosk that lit up a show

Arral Industries brought a see-through acrylic kiosk enclosure to KioskCom 2002 to display its relationships. It did not reckon on the enclosure itself becoming the star attraction.

April 2, 2002

It had been three years since Arral Industries Inc. exhibited at KioskCom'sannual trade show and conference, so in preparing for this year's event in Orlando, Fla., the enclosure manufacturer was looking for a way to leave a memorable impression.

So what greeted visitors to Arral's booth in a rear corner of the Orange County Convention Center exhibit hall? Try a see-through kiosk.

The neon orange, acrylic unit, standing 5 feet tall with an embedded keyboard, mousepad, and speakers, was designed and manufactred by Arral to showcase the company's versatility and display its partnership arrangements with the likes of Kiosk Information Systems Inc., Happ Controls, Cirque Corp., and DFI Technologies Inc.

But the see-through kiosk itself struck the fancy of enough attendees that Arral is putting it into its product line.

"Our thought was let's put this together and show off our alliances," said Ben Wheeler, Arral sales and marketing director. "It just kind of took off on its own."

Ed Urich, a regional manager for Happ Controls, which supplied a speaker system and amplifier for the kiosk, said the enclosure could represent an important milestone for the kiosk industry if utilized in the right deployments.

"I think it will be a very good way for people to pay attention to kiosks," Urich said. "I don't think people really have a great understanding of kiosks, or the kiosks are bland and tend not to be noticed. This one definitely gets noticed."

Taking stock

Founded in 1968 by Louis Arranaga, who still owns the company privately, Arral is an equipment designer and manufacturer in the military industry. The company entered the kiosk industry when it developed a library checkout unit in 1994.

The see-through kiosk Arral displayed at KioskCom allowed you to view the machine's components from the front (top) and the back, but the unit can be built with stainless steel casings to protect sensitive areas.

James Winsor, Arral vice president of business and technology, said the idea of a see-through kiosk stems from customizing requests the company began receiving in the late 1990s.

"We started finding a trend develop about three years ago where people were saying `It's nice that I can have this box, but can I have it like this or like that,' " Winsor said.

But the company spent several years concentrating on its primary kiosk sectors, meaning Arral did not immediately pursue those queries, and they dropped off the trade-show circuit shortly after exhibiting at KioskCom 1999.

"We just took a couple years off from the trade show industry and really delved into the airline industry," he said. "The last couple years we were really focused on airline products and human resources products for various companies."

United Airlines, one of several major airlines that have developed check-in kiosk programs, is an Arral client. So is Chase Manhattan Bank. Arral spent a good part of the last three years working on production units for those companies.

Such high-end units cost anywhere from $3,000 to $20,000, Winsor said. He would not reveal the kiosk division's revenue for last year, but said the company found itself moving more pilot projects than production units.

"From that perspective, we probably moved a couple hundred units last year," he said. "Somewhere in the course of 200 to 300.

"What's kept us stable is the fact that we do have a lot of diversity," Winsor added. "We manufactured aerospace equipment, along with self-service equipment last year."

Stepping out

Having solidified its standing within its core sectors, Winsor said Arral decided 2002 was the year to spread the company gospel and seek new markets.

"We're an engineering and manufacturing facility, and we can use a lot of different materials," he said. "We said `Let's go out and let people know about us.' Not as many people know about us and a lot of kiosk companies have come and gone. We're a rock in the kiosk industry because we've been around for ten years."

The idea for an acrylic kiosk came from discussions with several partners.

"DFI originally had an acrylic (computer) box that they took to KioskCom in San Diego last fall," Wheeler said. "The overture to them was `Why not take the computer out of the box and put it in an acrylic unit.' I took it to Happ Controls and said `Why don't we do it for you guys as well.' "

The see-through unit was created at Arral. Smaller units were also created for DFI and Apunix Computer Services to use at KioskCom 2002.

Happ's Urich said see-through units have always been a fun idea in the back of his head, and he was floored when he saw what Arral had produced at its Ontario, Calif., manufacturing plant.

"In December, when I met with Jim and Ben I said I'd always wanted to do something along these lines," Urich said. "So the Arral staff put their heads together they came up with a very unique product.

"It just speaks very highly for Arral," he added. "They've got a great team there."

Making contacts

Winsor said Arral has not delivered any production units of the see-through kiosk yet. But the company received at least a half-dozen requests for quotes directly through KioskCom 2002; another three or four have come in since the early March show through the company's Web site.

The company, which works with wood and metal products in its other kiosk enclosures, can design the acrylic unit with one-inch thick acrylic panels to protect sensitive areas, such as cash boxes, bill acceptors, and computer processing units. Stainless steel or powder-coated steel panels can also be melded into the unit instead of the inch-thick acrylic.

"We can take an entire enclosure and make it top-to-bottom, in-and-out acrylic," Winsor said. "But we expect to want to use some, but not all of it."

Winsor said the housing for a full-size unit runs in the $1,800-to-$2,000 range. Arral also plans hybrid units, including wall-mounted and bar units. Those units could run for $1,000 or less.

Having been pleasantly caught off guard by KioskCom 2002, Arral is working to increase the acrylic unit's visibility, meaning more trade shows for the company that shied away from the circuit for several years. The next stop is the Global Shop 2002 retail show in Chicago April 18-20, where the company will share a booth with Apunix.

"Retail is where we're looking the strongest at right now because we'll see a lot of that at Global Shop," Winsor said. "We believe the units will blend in well in retail situations, and we may see some in the hospitality area and also in sports bars."

But that is still in the future. For right now, Arral is taking its acrylic kiosk on the road, where it will be delighted if people see right through it, so to speak.