Eu’Vend Be Held With Coffeena Coffee Fair Sept. 8 To 10, 2011 In Cologne, To Present ‘Vending Star’ Innovation Award

From Sept. 8 to 10, 2011, Eu’Vend 2011, the International Trade Fair for the Vending Machine Industry will be held in Cologne, Germany, in conjunction with the coffeena coffee fair for the first time. The fair is completely booked, with around 220 exhibiting

companies.

Eu’Vend will once again showcase the innovative power of the sector, as the “Vending Star” innovation award will be presented at the fair for the fourth time. In the run-up to the fair, a jury of international experts has selected the four best innovations from

numerous new ideas and has nominated these innovations for the “Vending Star” award.

On Sept. 9, 2011, the winner among the four nominees will be announced. The

“Vending Star” is presented by Koelnmesse — the organizer of the Eu’Vend trade fair — in cooperation with the German Vending Association (BDV), the fair’s conceptual sponsor.

The jury members are Hans-Jürgen Krone (Lebensmittel Praxis Verlag), Ralf Lang (JAM Verlag), Norbert Monßen (BDV), Daniela Müller (Forum Verlag), Michal Piotrowiak (Mastercup Vending, Poland), Matthias Schlüter (Koelnmesse), Eric Schwaab (ES Fachschriften Verlag), Wolfgang Schwarzenberger (Dallmayr Automaten-Service serviPlus), Gerald Steger (café+co International, Austria), Gerold Stüwer (Stüwer GmbH) and Jan-Marck Vrijlandt (Selecta, Switzerland).

A total of 50 applications were received, from which the jury selected the top four — a difficult task in view of the many outstanding contributions. The jury selected the entries whose innovative potential not only holds great promise for the future, but that also can be put to real practical use by the operators every day, thereby enabling existing market challenges to be met.

After discussions and considerations, the experts selected four products, which each combine to an exceptional degree the assessment criteria of innovative content, applicability and solution capability in their respective segment.

The four nominees for the 2011 Vending Star in alphabetical order:

• Innoprax GmbH – Shakeria: The new "Shakeria Milk-Shake" offers a deliciously satisfying drink thanks to its one of a kind foaming action and the use of fresh Swiss milk. Combined with all the different flavors available, which range from fruity to latte macchiato, "Shakeria Milk-Shake" is a refreshing and healthy treat. The integrated straw and resealable cap make it a convenient and quick addition to the daily routine and today's on-the-go lifestyle.
• Kontroll-Systeme SB AG – Common Smartcard Solutions Association: The Industry Association for Common Smartcard Solutions (Industrieverband für einheitliche Smartcard-Lösungen e.V.) has made universalizing smartcard solutions its primary objective. Its vision includes replacing project and provider-oriented data structures with standardized data structures for RFID applications and defining corresponding interfaces. The association also champions the spread of the development as well as the institution of and compliance with standards to ultimately achieve greater flexibility for end customers.
• Microtronic AG – NFCpay: "NFCpay" unites the three previously independent areas of payment, data transfer and settlement for vending machines. Consumers can load their NFCready mobiles with the desired credit value and, simply by holding their phones for a couple seconds to the NFC-compatible reading system on the vending machine, pay and receive information about their current credit level and the sales receipts. The key benefits for the operator lie in the automatic settlement and the automatic transfer of all sales data via the mobile phone network to the settlement server, which bypasses having to invest in telemetry hardware or data reader devices.
• Toeca International Company B.V. – Fresh Shake XL: The "Fresh Shake XL" prepares fresh yoghurt shakes in three different flavors (strawberry, wild berries or exotic fruit). Customers select their flavor using a touchscreen and receive their low-calorie, fat-free yogurt shake just 45 seconds later. The shake is made of Danone yogurt, fruit purée and liquid nitrogen, which keeps the drink at a pleasant temperature. All the ingredients are stored in a refrigerator and kept fresh. The "Fresh Shake XL" also has an integrated self-cleaning system that is triggered automatically after a certain number of products are sold or after a certain amount of time, cleaning the vending machine with a three-phase program.