Remember when it was called ‘N&W Global Vending’? They used to take some stick over that. People would say, ‘Global’? It’s a bit of an exaggeration isn’t it?’
AM Vending
Well no, it really isn’t. N&W has just been chosen as machine supplier to a brand-new vending business that’s been established on one of the most remote islands on Earth: St. Helena
St. Helena is 2,500 miles east of Rio de Janeiro in South America and 1,200 miles west of the Namibian coast of South-West Africa. It’s so isolated that it was chosen as Napoleon’s final place of incarceration. (He’d escaped from everywhere else they’d tried to hold him).
The new company is called AM Vending and it’s been set up by Anthea Moyce. ‘I moved back to St Helena Island from the UK in December 2013, and started to look for a business opening’, she told PV. ‘The good news was that, with the opening of our first ever airport, St. Helena was about to feel a whole lot less isolated and that gave me an idea…’
Necta Tango Combi
Anthea grasped the opportunity and AM Vending was born. The first tranche, of three N&W machines, (Necta Tango Combis, FYI), have already arrived at the island in the sun.
Anthea’s will be an owner / operator business. ‘My objective is to keep the machines fully stocked and cleaned personally, every day, and my ambition is to purchase a number of machines. One is located in St Helena Government Offices, one at the HRH Princess Royal Community Centre and the other at the Gym. I’m not going to stop there. I’ll be getting another soon for the Education Learning Centre, and I’m now writing a proposal for two to be placed at Prince Andrew Community School. These machines can go in many more places: the airport, hotels, the police station and so on. I’m so glad that the transportation of the machines to the island was such a smooth operation. I’m thankful that I found N&W as their services are superb!’
Anthea will personally service the machines every afternoon and should there be any technical issues, her partner, Leroy March, is ready to step in. ‘He’s not an engineer by trade’, Anthea says, ‘nevertheless he has experience, gained on The Falkland Islands working for Naafi, of stocking vending machines, and collecting cash and so on, so he’s not exactly a beginner. As a professional fitter, he’s also clever at problem solving! If all else fails, there’s always the Internet!
‘Many locals will buy a product just so they can see how the machine works!’
Products will be sourced from suppliers in Cape Town, South Africa and the UK.
‘We’ll offer a selection of crisps, peanuts, chocolates; cereal bars, nougat bars, flapjacks; popcorn, bottled flavoured water, still water; canned drinks and fruit juices’, Anthea said.
Another reason for purchasing stock from Cape Town and UK is that some products you can get there aren’t easily available on St Helena. That means lines will only be available in vending machines. ‘St Helena people are also very inquisitive, so vending will be a hot topic for many weeks and I expect that many locals will buy a product just so they can see how the machine works!’ Anthea said.
We wish Anthea the very best of luck. N&W has always said that they’ll ‘go to the ends of the Earth for our customers’. Maybe, sometime soon, that commitment will be put to the test! Good luck with that, Steve Dolman! And in case you need a map, mate…
