NRG Supply making inroads in vending machine world
By Maurice Garvey
IDENTIFYING a niche in the market, Perrystown start-up NRG Supply has started to make serious inroads in the vending machine world - via their modern range of smart tech machines.
Rathfarnham man Graham Cooley and Rory O' Shaughnessy from Templeogue, are the co-founders of NRG Supply, who recently secured a contract with UK firm Fit4less, to install their machines at Irish gyms nationwide.
The small company, which employs four people, has also secured a private investor.
At gyms, NRG machines stock healthy refreshments and snacks whilst also providing customers with nutritional information on products, however Cooley says they can tailor machines to suit the requirements of any type of client.
“We’ll vend anything,” quipped Cooley.
“We’re looking at a contract for a theme park, and for hotels and offices. You can also provide machines for a tennis club stocking tennis balls, the capabilities are endless.”
Sourced from the USA, NRG vending machines are equipped to take all forms of payments, including cards, coins or notes.
“They are future proofed to adapt to any advancements in cashless payments. If there are any new forms of payments, our readers can do that.”
“They are premium machines which is what we set out to do. Remotely, we can see any issues. It’s smart technology. We can see what is selling, if the machine needs repairs, and optimize it if not selling.”
With a background in the hotel industry, Cooley ‘s attention to detail is a good fit for the business – each individual vending machine is monitored remotely to ensure maximum revenue yield for clients.
He continued: “It’s a very simple concept. In hotels, revenue management is a big thing. If a room is empty, you aren’t making anything. Likewise, with vending machines, if something isn’t selling, it can be optimized.
“They are also very energy efficient. If a gym closes at 10pm, you set the time to turn the machine off at 10pm and turn it back on when the gym re-opens in the morning.”
After self-funding and receiving some support from AIB to get the venture up and running last year, NRG have recently secured a private investor to further develop a simple but effective business model.
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