November 03, 2005

Kiosk Information Systems - Europe

pete-photo-100.jpg
Kiosk Information Systems, Inc. expands with new office and manufacturing located in Scotland. Not often you see U.S. kiosk companies establishing European facilities to support and grow their client base.

Feature Article on Kioskcom.com

Thursday, November 3, 2005
By Rick Redding
Snyder Sets Sail

KIS Exec Makes Move to Elevate "Kiosk" Overseas

Pete Snyder�s been working on his Scottish accent.

In August, the senior executive at Louisville, Colo.-based Kiosk Information Systems packed up his belongings, his wife and business ambition and moved them to Larbert, Scotland, determined to establish �Kiosk� as the dominant player in kiosk manufacturing outside the United States.

�I�ll spend the next two months building relationships,� Snyder said in a phone interview from Scotland, sounding like a man on a mission. �It�s a different sales model here. You have to get in front of people, you have to get face time. It�s not like the U.S., where you can make a few phone calls and get a deal done.�

But Snyder, 62, says that while his European vocation may seem an unusual career move, he�s got the enthusiasm and belief system to make Kiosk Information Systems� eastern expansion successful. And there�s a vast frontier in the kiosk world to explore. Just back from Kiev, Snyder says he�ll be traveling frequently to the Middle East as well.

�I�d like to do $2 million to $3 million (in sales) in six months,� he said. �If I only do $200,000, I'll be disappointed. The kiosk marketplace in Europe is small; there are not a lot of big companies.�

KIS, marketing itself in Europe as �Kiosk,� has established a working relationship with Mack Technologies, which operates a 52,000-square foot manufacturing plant. Snyder is responsible for establishing KIS manufacturing standards in the plant.

�There were a lot of factors, but at the end of the day, it made more sense to build here,� he said. The deal came together in August. KIS will use Mack�s manufacturing space and personnel to fill orders for customers in Europe and the Middle East.

KIS, the major kiosk manufacturer in the U.S., had established business outside the U.S. prior to the move to Scotland. But Snyder said customers there want their hardware to be produced in Europe. He thinks the company�s success in the U.S. will be duplicated around the world, and can contribute up to 7 percent of KIS' bottom-line revenue.

�By stepping into this, I think I became the major player the day I started,� he said.

Since KIS� European arm will operate as �Kiosk,� the company is building an extension of its Web site at http://europe.kiosk.com/. It also recently acquired the Web domain, http://www.kiosk.com/, in a deal with Louisville, Ky.-based NetWorld Alliance, according to KIS senior executive Craig Keefner.

The length of Snyder�s stay in Europe is open-ended. �I�ll be here until I have set up a viable organization. It should be a year, year and a half, but I�m not sure. It�s a nice challenge with a lot of excitement. I�m a true believer and excited to do it.�

And Snyder makes it clear it�s no sign that he�s slowing down.

�I�m not here to play around.�

Posted by keefner at November 3, 2005 02:14 PM