MEI Conlux

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MEI Conlux
Company type Division
Industry Machinery
Founded("Mars Electronics International")
1965
Headquarters,
U.S.
Area served
North America, Europe, various other locations
Products Currency detection, including Automated teller machine, and Vending Machines
Parent Crane & Co. (since 2012)
Website www.cranepi.com/en

MEI Conlux (formerly known as Mars Electronics International) is a manufacturer of electronic banknote validators, coin acceptors and changers. MEI was spun off to private investment interests in July 2006. In December 2012, it was sold to Crane Co., which also manufactures vending machines. [1] A new division was created inside the company by merging former CPS (Crane Payment Solutions) and MEI into CPI (Crane Payment Innovations).

The firm began operations in Great Britain in 1965 and expanded to the United States in 1967. The firm invented the electronic vending machine and is one of the largest manufacturers of vending machines in the world. [2] As of 2011, the company operated in over one hundred countries and processed over two billion transactions per week. [3]

It has had a co-educational relationship with the Mechanical Engineering department of the Imperial College, London. [4] [5]

In 1996, the firm signed a deal with DigiCash, one of the first digital currencies. This led to the widespread integration of smart card technology in vending machines. [6]

Since 2000, the company has been the sole manufacturer of bill handling units (a form of automated cash handling) for the Federal Transit Administration. [7]

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References

  1. "Crane to buy privately held MEI Conlux for $820 million". Reuters. 21 December 2012 via www.reuters.com.
  2. Mattern, Joanne (1 January 2011). Mars Family: M&M Mars Candy Makers. ABDO Publishing Company. ISBN   9781617841651 via Google Books.
  3. Devillier, Sandra (6 December 2011). "MEI Conlux Has Launched Its Next-Generation Five-Tube Coin Changer". www.parking-net.com (Press release).
  4. author, EPSRC. "Grants on the web". gow.epsrc.ukri.org.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. Gelder, Sicco Van (16 January 2019). Global Brand Strategy: Unlocking Branding Potential Across Countries, Cultures & Markets. Kogan Page Publishers. ISBN   9780749444693 via Google Books.
  6. "Mars Electronics International signs worldwide deal with DigiCash", Press release, Mars Electronics International
  7. "Mars Electronics - December 10, 2002". Federal Transit Administration. 22 September 2015.