Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/621384
20 | I NSIGH T • J a n u a r y 2 0 1 6 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m FEC is shorthand for family entertainment center, which includes places like Badger Sports Park in Appleton, Dave & Busters, the myriad parks and hotels in Wisconsin Dells and pizza restaurants such as Chuck E. Cheese. In addition to rows of video games and activities such as Laser Tag, mini-golf and go-kart tracks, these centers will also include rows of mechanical, coin-operated games featuring bright lights, moving parts, loud music and the opportunity to win mountains of prize redemption tickets in one shot. "If we see the wiggle, we have a pretty good idea the game will be successful," he says. Chances are, the games lined up in those FECs around the country were built right here in Northeast Wisconsin at Bay Tek Games. e 40-year-old company, which started out making ball drop games, is consistently ranked as one of the top two manufacturers in the industry. "We have a number of different manufacturers we work with, but their difference is they are incredibly personable and hands on," says Mike Miller, the Wisconsin Dells-based district manager for Family Entertainment Group. "ey listen to whatever we say, no matter how minor." Given the company's recent successes, there is a whole lot of butt-wiggling going on. F u n & G a m e s T hat Bay Tek cites the "butt wiggle" as a measure of success is perhaps not all that surprising, considering the first of the company's six core values is fun. It's one of the first things visitors see when stepping into the conference room at the company's corporate headquarters, which have been expanded several times to accommodate the growth since the company's founding. Bay Tek's roots stretch back to 1975, when Melvin Treankler, Bob Wech, Giles Blazer and Bob Ward started Northeast Wisconsin Electric as an electrical engineering firm. Two years later, based on an idea pitched by a neighbor in church, the company charted a new course and became Bay Tek, Inc. e first product rolled out was a coin-operated ball drop game, a game concept that formed the core of the company's business for much of its early history. In 1983, Melvin Treankler's sons Carl and Larry completed a buyout of the other partners to make Bay Tek a family business. During the next several years, the company moved from the basement of Treankler's house to a space in MCL Industries (another family business) to its current location in Pulaski. W I N B I G c o n t i n u e d As competition in the industry increased, the company began diversifying its product line, adding light pattern games and its first alley bowlers in 1994 and 1995. Other new games followed, and in the late 1990s the company added another growth strategy to its arsenal: acquisition. In 1997, the company made the first of several "industry friendly" acquisitions that have added new product lines and technical expertise to the company's portfolio. "e industry has really consolidated in the past 15 years," Philippon says. "Acquisition has certainly been part of our strategy, but so has creating great games for our customers." Bay Tek has done quite well with both parts of the strategy. In addition to its acquisitions, the company regularly rolls out new games, including classic titles such as Pull My Finger and Big Bass Wheel — one of the top performing games in the industry since being introduced in 2008. e games are significant investments for FECs, in both floor space occupied and cost. Featuring wood, composite and glass construction, a Big Bass Wheel game stands more than 12 ½ feet tall with all the accessories and weighs in at 1,000 pounds. e list price is roughly $13,000. "Customer play and revenue determine what is going to be successful in this industry," says Family Entertainment Group's Miller. "You are never really sure what's going to take off. ey've had a knack for keeping it simple and hitting the right products." All told, the company has expanded its current facility five times to accommodate the roughly 3,000 games it builds each year. Top line revenues are roughly $24 million annually, and Bay Tek employs more than 115 full-time employees in a variety of functions, from engineers to assemblers. S i m p l i c i t y s e l l s A s elaborate as the corporate structure may have become, the company and its products are based on simple principles involving a player, a coin, a mechanical process the player controls and the opportunity for a big jackpot — which in Bay Tek's world are the tickets used to redeem for prizes in family entertainment centers. "New product is what drives our industry. It (Big Bass Wheel) didn't seem like a game that would hold on that long." Holly Hampton, director of innovation at Bay Tek Games