National Entertainment Network (the mega-operating company running games, cranes, bulk vending machines in locations across the U.S.) recently bought the assets of bulk vending machine manufacturer Northwestern Corp. Terms were not disclosed. NEN officials say they pursued the purchase to help save their parts supply, claiming that they have the largest installed base of Northwestern units in the country.
At this early date, NEN says it will not yet be supplying parts to others while it explores future ways to handle its new asset. President and CEO Ed Flaherty said the company will need until the third quarter of this year to complete the decisions necessary regarding outside parts supply and the possible resumption of production of Northwestern vending machines.
Northwestern was founded in 1909 by Emerson A. Bolen and has been an iconic name in bulk vending since the 1930s. The company was owned by the Bolen family until this most recent sale, marking over a hundred years of vending.