Another well-known character from the UK coin machine industry, John McLoughlin, has passed at the age of 69.
For years a key member of the Bell-Fruit team, John died peacefully at home on July 19 following a battle with cancer.
His colleague, John Austin, who worked closely with him for over 50 years, described him as "a gentleman and a true friend" and added: “My sincerest condolences go to John’s widow, Carol, children James and Sarah and their grandchildren,”
John Austin and John McLoughlin were inseparable and a very familiar duo for Bell-Fruit at innumerable trade events across Europe for many years.
After graduating in French and working as a teacher in France, John joined Bell-Fruit in the1970s as a management trainee which led on to him becoming a regional manager for its Northern operating division. He later joined Allied Breweries as machines manager before being appointed sales director at the machine manufacturing business Ace.
Following the JPM acquisition and integration of Ace, John became sales manager of the joint brands. John’s career then took him back to Bell-Fruit as sales director where he was pivotal in the company’s success in the post millennium years until his retirement in 2018.
John’s funeral will be held at 11am on Thursday, August 10 at St Augustine’s Church, Woodborough Road, Nottingham NG3 4QF.
InterGame’s David Snook, who knew John McLoughlin for all of his career, said this week: “John Austin has hit the nail on the head when he said Johnny McL was ‘a gentleman’. He was immensely respected in the industry and with John Austin became a very solid combination that fronted Bell-Fruit for many of its most successful years as a machine producer.
“I had hosts of meetings with Johnny Mac, in various parts of the world at trade shows and other industry events and found him utterly reliable and very much a man of his word. He had a wealth of experience in the industry and an ability to spot strengths and weaknesses in any product after only minutes of examination.
“When Johnny Mac formed conclusions on any issue, everyone listened and took due note. He was another valuable asset to the industry that is now gone, but won’t be forgotten.”
