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ATEI Amusement Trades Exhibition International Visitors get more from London

ATEI/ICE/ICEi/VES 2006 - Earls Court, London - 24/25/26 January 2006
Free ticket registration and further information: www.ateonline.co.uk/atei

The 62^nd annual Amusement Trades Exhibition International (ATEI) takes place on 24-26 January at London's Earls Court Exhibition Centre. Co-located with the world's leading coin-op amusements and soft gaming show are the International Casino Exhibition (ICE) - incorporating the integral interactive gaming section, ICEi - and the inaugural Visitor Experience Show (VES), which promises an exciting mix of new equipment and services for dedicated operators of parks, attractions and venue/theme-based leisure facilities.

Whilst the history, credentials and spectacular displays of the `London Show' have been well documented throughout the pages of the international trade press, industry observers may be wondering where it all goes from here. So, what's in store for visitors this year?

The full picture
Over 500 exhibiting companies will occupy around 25,000sqm. (270,000sq.ft.) of net floor space spread across three halls. In addition to its traditional home on the ground floor of Earls Court 1, ATEI has added another layer with more stands and facilities now located in Hall 2, accessed via escalators situated centre-left on the main floor. Level 2 of Earls Court 1 is also the venue for VES, which has its own dedicated registration area and escalators linked with the main Warwick Road foyer. The extra space made available upstairs has enabled show organisers ATE to introduce a number of visitor facilities for all show visitors, including additional restaurants and bars, special display features, executive seating areas and a business lounge complete with I.T. services and free access to the Internet. ICE and ICEi remain in Earls Court 2 with a dedicated registration area and crossover into ATEI. Visitors registered to any individual show will have free access to all parts of the exhibition.

The `internationalism' of the London Show is apparent not only in the attendance make-up, which regularly comprises visitors drawn from over 100 nations, but also in the provenance of the participating exhibitors - over half of whom (51.8 per cent) are based outside the United Kingdom. Indeed, no fewer than 37 countries will be represented by exhibiting companies this year.

Dual displays
17 companies have chosen to target their product ranges at different sectors of the market by having two stands, each located in different shows. The most notable of these dual exhibitors is Austrian company Amatic Industries whose ATEI stands in ATEI and ICE total over 300sqm. (3,240sq.ft), giving it the seventh largest presence at the London Show. Mars Electronics International (MEI), Eurocoin, Suzo-Happ and Money Controls also have significant stands in both ATEI and ICE. Israeli online gaming software specialists Playtech had a triumphant showing at ICE 2005 and they have opted for an additional stand in ATEI this January, whilst the past successes for Gamesoft and Innovative Technology in ATEI have prompted the UK-based companies to add additional outposts in ICE. Three companies - Zest Gaming of Italy, EssNet Interactive of Sweden and Entertainment Industry of Ukraine - will make debut appearances in both shows. Prestige Seating Technology will again feature in both ATEI and ICE, as will b2b publications Amusement Industry Catalogue, G3 and Your Guide. Two companies, Fun2Learn Children's Rides and InsureLink will have a presence in both ATEI (Hall 1) and upstairs in VES.

Pure coin-op in abundance
Even to the strictest of coin-op aficionados, for whom the 185 exhibitors in ICE and 46 in VES may warrant a mere cursory glance, the ATEI proposition remains extremely compelling. Two months before the doors were due to open, a total of 277 companies had confirmed their presence at what will be the largest event in its 62-year history; over 12,500sqm. (134,500sq.ft.) of floor space filled by amusements manufacturers and distributors from at least 30 countries.

The global appeal is ever strong, with almost half (47 per cent) of the ATEI showcase consisting of companies drawn from outside the UK. Italy is currently the most abundant guest nation with 19 exhibitors confirmed, closely followed by Spain with 18. Ten companies hail from the United States, nine from Austria and seven each from Korea, Poland and Taiwan. Six ATEI exhibitors are based in the Ukraine whilst Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands each provide five. Croatia and the Czech Republic will both be represented by four, with three from each of France, Japan and Sweden and two each from Australia and Portugal. Other countries represented by ATEI exhibitors include Argentina, Canada, China, Denmark, Ireland, Israel, Malta, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Big hitters
British distributor of amusements, Crown Direct heads this year's list of ATEI big hitters with a stand of 544.5sqm. (5,861sq.ft.), followed by Astra Games (439.1sqm./4,727sq.ft.). The third largest stand (298.1sqm./3,209sq.ft.) is home to Revolution Entertainment Systems, Inspired Broadcast Network and Leisure Link, whilst RLMS Sales is fourth with 242sqm. (2,605sq.ft.) and Sega Amusements Europe fifth with 232sqm. (2,497sq.ft.). Games Media - incorporating Global Games, Voodoo Games, Channel 1 Games and Seven Digital Gaming - and Bell-Fruit Games, also featuring Mazooma Games, QPS Interactive and GamesNet, complete the line-up of exhibitors with stands over 200sqm. (2,153sq.ft.). Austrian giants Funworld, UK-based Electrocoin and the German conglomerate of Stella International/GeWeTe/Mexim fill the remaining top 10 positions. These are followed by JVH Gaming Products, TAB Austria, Barcrest Group, Harry Levy, Namco-Bandai and Thomas Estates, all of whom occupy stands in excess of 150sqm. (1,615sq.ft.).

New products and ideas from first-time exhibitors
Around 10 per cent of the show floor will accommodate companies exhibiting in ATEI for the very first time with 42 debutants already lined up by the end of November. The newcomers include eight British organisations, four each from Austria, Korea, Ukraine and USA, three from Taiwan and two each from Australia, Croatia, Italy, Poland and Sweden. Other first-time exhibitors are drawn from the Czech Republic, Israel, Japan, Portugal and Slovenia.