News

Metal fx seeks leading position in market

September 30, 2004

WILLITS, Calif. -- Enclosure manufacturer AM&D: Metal fx, which announced its entry into the kiosk market in early 2002, is gearing up to be a major player.

The Willits, Calif.-based company claims its more than 316,000 square feet of manufacturing facilities places it in a prime spot to become one of the world's largest kiosk manufacturers, according to a company news release.

Metal fx, which previously specialized in arcade games and precision sheet metal products, generated much talk in April when it brought a kiosk to the GlobalShop show (See story: Metal fx makes its move).

Noting its commitment to the kiosk market, the company also named Ben Wheeler sales manager of the Wood Products Division. Wheeler previously served as sales manager for kiosk developer Arral Industries, Inc.

"Wheeler's hiring is part of an ambitious plan to transform AM&D: Metal fx into a key player in the kiosk industry," CEO Gordon Short said. "We've put together some strong marketing plansÂ…and we're making the people investment and the marketing investment to make it happen. We're bringing in someone who has built his experience on kiosks and has outstanding customer relationships."

Wheeler will oversee market positioning, Kiosks.org Association membership, advertising, sales and collateral brochure design. He'll also have input in the design of several standard kiosk models, according to the release.

"We'll be willing to do pilots if there is promise for the future," Wheeler said. "We're not afraid of doing (rollouts) of ones, of 10s, of 50s."

Metal fx and its Wood Products Division were started in 1976 as Advanced Manufacturing and Development, Inc., a custom sheet metal manufacturer. The privately held company, whose majority owner is Spokane, Wash.-based Avista Corp., generated nearly $20 million in annual revenues in recent years, according to the release.