Whats inside a vending machine? and trivia from the technician

A few months after I met a technician who shared with me whats going on within the coffee machine, I chanced upon the vending-machine technician who is doing his usual maintenance rounds at my hostel. At the lobby of my hostel stood a can-drinks vending machine which dispenses a variety of 10 soft drinks. Though nothing spectacular, I was curious to know whats inside..

Between the cans storage area and the exterior of the vending machine stands a thick door which helps to seal the drinks in a cold environment. You can visualise the vending machine like a special refrigerator with some small computers outside to dispense the cans.

Cans are stacked in their respective columns

The technician also shared with me some insights about the vending machine.

• Nobody in Singapore manufactures/ is able to manufacture such machines
• As such, prices can range from SGD$5,000 - SGD$6,000 to import such machines. For more complicated drinks machines which can dispense both hot and cold drinks onto a paper cup, those can cost up to SGD$15,000 to import.
• Most of the local vending machines are imported from US/ Japan. They have the technical know-how on both the computing and hardware associated with the vending machine. 

Though capital costs are high, there seems to be some local companies willing to absorb the investment in exchange for a lucrative site to place their vending machines. For a high density population country like Singapore, a strategic location could help you generate decent drink sales everyday. Drinks at the vending machines beside the basketball courts are consistently sold out.

Also, no horror story was mentioned like what was mentioned regarding the coffee machine.

EUFASS