About Us

About Us

SB Machines provides sales and service throughout the UK and Ireland for Italian coin-operated children's rides. Our main partners are Italresina, Cogan, and Memopark.

We stock a large range of rides so you can be assured of independent, unbiased advice when it comes to choosing equipment for your business.

We develop rides with our partners specifically for UK and Ireland. They undergo rigorous site testing so that we can satisfy customer demand for top performing kiddie rides with superior reliability.

Our dedicated service team provides comprehensive after-sales support. We carry a full range of spare parts and we are always available to answer all types of technical queries.

Few companies in the amusement sector can uphold the importance of the family more than SB Machines, the Porthcawl based sales and service centre for Italian coin-operated rides formed nearly 50 years ago by Gino and Renato Sidoli, now run by Renato’s son Paolo.

Paolo speaks enthusiastically about the company’s heritage: “With a large established Italo-Welsh community in South Wales, Gino started to supply many of the Italian owned cafés with various types of amusement equipment. This business expanded to supplying the more traditional pubs and clubs by the 1980s.”

He continues: “Then by a chance encounter in the early 1990s, Gino became friendly with an Italian company that was installing a compact roller coaster at a local amusement park and he acted as their translator. As both parties originated from the same area of Italy (Emilia-Romagna), Gino quickly struck a rapport and succeeded in persuading the Italian company that we could represent them and their umbrella companies in the UK and Ireland.

With a huge leap of faith, we took part at the ATEI 1994 in Earls Court, London, as exhibitors rather than visitors and showed our most successful ride to date, Cogan’s Wild West Wagon.”

The company enjoys a respectable reputation in the business, one which Paolo, Gino and Renato are committed to upholding. “We work in a marketplace which we understand and respect. We are based in a small seaside town and when we visit customers in St Osyth, Skegness, Whitby or anywhere in the United Kingdom, we understand their concerns, ambitions and other thought processes because they are the same as ours. A common topic of discussion is how we can drive revenue forward and how can we make our business better. One can see a clear communion of spirit between individuals and businesses who form part of the seaside economy across the British Isles.”

It is not just the customers that SB Machines are close to. Paolo is also proud and grateful of the relationship the company enjoys with the mainly family owned Italian ride manufacturers.

He explains, “We have a shared heritage and our relationships are built on decades of conducting business together. We represent the best of Made in Italy and we are in constant dialogue with them, feeding ideas in and identifying patterns and trends relevant to the UK sector. This real time information is valuable to all as we gain a more complete understanding of the market. Nothing gets better than speaking to people on a regular basis, whose family you have known for years and being able to talk business, whether as customers or suppliers.”

For Sidoli, the business transaction does not end with the sale. In many ways, he argues, it has only begun. “I want my customers for life. Their success is my success and this means looking them in the eye, with total conviction, and being able to say that you have done the best for them. When things do not go according to plan, it means being committed to put them right as quickly as possible. It also involves delivering the very best technical support and repair service. The legacy of having light and heavy industry in South Wales means access to a workforce skilled in electronics, engineering , fibreglassing and airbrushing. This way we can extend the lifespan of the product we supply and keep them in prime condition for the longest possible time.

Paolo concludes “The majority of our staff have been with us for such a long time that you could say they are part of the family!”

Paolo interviewed by Coinslot

Q: So, what are your objectives for next season?

We are going to launch four or five new rides for the coming season, some of which have already been presented at ACOS in October. Our key philosophies on our new launches will be inspiring design, interactivity and performance. We see that multi-seat rides are a compelling purchasing motivator to operators, while interactivity and video screen are now considered de facto on nearly all of our rides.

We are also deep in our testing of the £2 per play ride. This price of play barrier will soon be overcome. Our new range of rides have radical designs and the player experience is extremely fulfilling. This new pricing point can be justified without sacrificing cashbox revenue. Increased returns to the operator coupled with increased player satisfaction will certainly reinforce the idea of a children’s ride being a key attraction in any leisure destination. By studying and embracing all these concepts, we can truly differentiate our rides from the competition and ensure that they have a long economic lifespan.

Q: Can you shed some light on the design process of a new ride?

It currently takes about 18 months to bring a new ride to market. Each of our manufacturers develop their own models which we then evaluate on carefully chosen sites across the UK. After a period of rigorous site testing, we then pick the rides that we feel are suitable for roll-out to the customer. Our idea is to create a healthy dose of competition amongst our manufacturers which in turn stimulates their individual creativity.

Q: Where does the inspiration for new rides come from?

Mainly by engaging with all the network of people who are involved in the design and manufacturing process. These people include the ‘modelista’ (designer), the electronic engineer, the mechanical engineer, the fibreglassing team and the airbrush artists. We all have one common goal and that is to produce the next successful ride. In my case, I have to guarantee that when a ride hits market, it stays relevant for at least 5 years. This is super challenging in today’s fast paced digital era but fun at the same time.

Q: What is in store for the future?

We expect the £2 per play ride to become more commonplace and a much quicker than expected obsolescence and phasing out of older rides. We expect rides to become larger and more impressive in terms of movement and looks.

Q: What is your favourite ride ever?

The Wild West Wagon by Cogan. Launched over 30 years ago, this was our first and most successful children’s ride. Great looks, captivating movement, 2 seats and fabulous cashbox performance. A real standout piece at the time and it represented everything we as a company still try and do in the market today.