Manufacturing in Manitoba

C M Y K WINNIPEG FREE PRESS - SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2019 5 C M Y K This Couch Tomato kiosk features a 27-inch touch screen to dispense salad and dinners in mason jars. From the unique to the eclectic, Vending Design Works has done it all. The local company offers custom-designed vending machines that are manufactured in Manitoba and shipped all over the world. They build the machines to meet the specifications of their clients, who are mainly located in the United States and Europe. "We design and build unusual vending machines," said general manager Don Rischuk. "We basically create machines to help control and manage inventory." For one project, they created a machine that dispenses scrubs to staff working in New York City hospitals, with a four-inch touch screen for inputting hospital ID. With an eye for innovation, Rischuk outlines some of their other interesting offerings. "We've done an interactive vending machine for Dell computers for trade-show events. And we built the first medical marijuana vendor in the states of Colorado and Arizona," he said. "We received a machine from a company in England and are modifying it for the fitness industry. And we are working with a company from Detroit for the past few years on a program for hospital services." Vending Design Works has been operating in Winnipeg since 2010. Prior to that, it operated in Vancouver under a different name. Rischuk's wife Susan launched the company and continues to serve as its president. "We have an assembly plant on Keewatin Street. At this location, we design the metal work and have it cut and powder coated by SCT Welding, Laser and Manufacturing," Rischuk said. "We get the parts to our shop where we assemble them and install the parts we build here — the computers, the touch screens, the control boards and the software to make them operate." Engineers design the equipment and write the software code on site at the design studio and assembly shop. On an ongoing basis, the company creates machines that have never existed before, but they often can't reveal any details due to non- disclosure agreements. Each of the products is patented for the companies that request the design. At the same time, they also sell regular machines to individuals who prefer something "off the rack." "We are building a series of vending kiosks to dispense fresh salads and dinners in mason jars," Rischuk said. "We are selling the majority of these machines to the U.S., especially the Philadelphia area. But we currently are building a unit for a company in Vancouver, and we did one for London, Ont., and one for Montreal. We also designed a vending kiosk for the ME to WE group in Toronto for their head office." In previous years, they were busy selling cigar- vending machines to clients in the Middle East. Today, they continue to offer similar products on a smaller scale. "We still build and sell small wall-mount cigarette vending machines. As politically incorrect as it is to smoke, people still purchase these machines," Rischuk said. "Our market is generally the Eastern Seaboard of the United States." For Vending Design Works, the collaborative nature of the local manufacturing industry helps to turn ideas into a reality. "Winnipeg has a good thing in that there's a lot of industries that allow people to diversify. So there's lots of manufacturing for specialty items, like people who do control boards and people who do special metal work," Rischuk said. "There's so many kinds of facilities available, and Winnipeg has them all. Even though it's a small community, it has a big industry of unique suppliers of equipment. When you're looking for particular items, you can take advantage of all the opportunities here." ❙ A VISION FOR VENDING If you can dream it, they can build it. "WE GET THE PARTS TO OUR SHOP WHERE WE ASSEMBLE THEM AND INSTALL THE PARTS WE BUILD HERE — THE COMPUTERS, THE TOUCH SCREENS, THE CONTROL BOARDS AND THE SOFTWARE TO MAKE THEM OPERATE."

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