News

Touchscreen vending kiosks to feature multivend baskets

June 2, 2014

European vending machine supplier Selecta is to introduce its new vending machines in the fall of 2014, developed with its St Petersburg, Russia-based partner Unicum.

The vending machines’ innovations include a 15-inch touchscreen, multivend possibilities via basket shopping, up to 50-percent more capacity for products, integrated side panels for advertising, and ergonomic product and change delivery.

Selecta said the vending machines will use bi-directional telemetry for preventive maintenance and quicker response times for technical problems.

Unicum’s experience with bi-directional telemetry was one of the reasons why Selecta partnered with the Russian firm, Patrick Koller, Selecta’s operations development director responsible for new machine concept development, said in a statement.

An additional benefit is that Unicum belongs to Uvenco Group, a leading Russian vending operator, Koller said. “This means we are teaming up with a partner that understands the importance of operational efficiency and total cost of ownership when developing a new machine,” he said.

In the coming years, Unicum will manufacture more than 3,000 machines for Selecta. Some 1,000 units are earmarked for the French national railway company SNCF, which recently commissioned Selecta to equip more than 800 railway stations with the new vending machines. The SNCF machines will offer see-through screens, real-time refunds to My Selecta apps and contactless payments.