Russias Unicum Launches Move Combo Vending Machine In North America At Chicagos OneShow

CHICAGO -- Slated for launch at the National Automatic Merchandising Association's OneShow here is the Move machine from Moscow's Unicum, a leading manufacturer of vending equipment in Eastern Europe. The interactive combination vender is making its North American debut this week in booth No. 1243.

"We are very excited to offer this 21st- century vending machine to the North American market," said Unicum board chairman Boris Belotserkovsky, who also is president of the Russian National Vending Association.

Move has been well received abroad, Belotserkovsky reported. He noted that the largest European operator, Selecta, has installed Move at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport and more than 400 other locations in France, Switzerland and other European countries. "For Unicum, the next logical step will be expanding to North America through building new strategic partnerships," he said.

Unicum director of international sales George Bellow described the major features of the Move vender as a 15" touchscreen interface, multi-vend possibilities by means of "basket" shopping and as much as 50% more capacity for a wider product offering. "I believe Move is ideal for any outdoor location, with the machine being able to withstand any weather, anti-graffiti paint and vandal-proof merchandise door dispensing mechanism," Bellow said. Move's modern design includes integrated side panels for advertising.

The vending machine can dispense a variety of snack and cold beverage selections. It supports two temperature zones; the lower shelves may be cooled to a range of 32°F. to 39°F., and the upper ones at 44°F. to 57°F.; the 1/5-HP cooling system uses R404a refrigerant. All Unicum machines have been developed with GPRS modem technology to permit connecting to the Uonline network for bidirectional telemetry. The Move vender is available for operation on 115VAC., 60Hz for the United States and 220-230VAC., 50Hz for Europe.

Unicum explained that it has invested heavily in establishing a world-class research and development organization with facilities in St. Petersburg to create innovative, profitable products for international markets. Unicum's vending machines and kiosks are manufactured at a state-of-art, ISO 9001-certified manufacturing facility in St. Petersburg capable of turning out 20,000 machines annually.