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Few companies in the amusement sector can uphold the importance of the family more than SB Machines. The Porthcawl-based sales and service centre for Italian coin-operated rides is run by second generation Paolo Sidoli who started working in the family catering businesses from the moment he was able to read and write. SB Machines can trace its coin-op origins back to ATEI 1994 when the company launched its first and most successful children’s ride – Cogan’s Wild West Wagon. More than 30-years later Paolo is relishing the opportunity to meet with customers old and new at EAG Expo.

What was your first career job and wage?

I never had a career as such.  I always worked in the family business.  As soon as I was able to walk and read and write, I would help out in the family catering establishments. I can never remember getting paid – it was a case of helping out when the premises were busy.  In the 70s and early 80s, towns like Porthcawl were bustling because there were no supermarkets around, people were less mobile and therefore moved around their local areas and we benefitted. This was especially the case in the summer when the miners from the South Wales Valleys holidayed in towns like Porthcawl and Barry.

What was your greatest accomplishment and what are you most proud of?

Going the distance and maintaining the course. SB Machines has been a consistent, reliable and dependable presence in the UK coin-op sector since our first exhibition at ATEI 1994.  This is a testament to what we have achieved behind the scenes to ensure longevity and continuity in our business.

Who has had the biggest influence on your career?

My manufacturers in Italy.  Dedication to duty, being self-reliant, innovative, resilient and adapting their business models to changes in the market was a constant in their philosophy.  They were immaculate in everything they did.  A superb introduction to Made in Italy.

What are you looking forward to most from January’s EAG?

It will be over 30 years of us being active participants at the show in its various formats. I always look forward to meeting customers old and new and catching up with them.

What role have you enjoyed most?

My work has enabled me to travel the length of breadth of the UK and Ireland. It has been a delight to visit areas of the UK that I would otherwise not have been able to do.

Who has been the most influential person in your life and why?

A gentleman by the name of Jean-Jacques Gabas. I studied French at University and Mr Gabas was the lecturer handling the English to French translation classes during the first year.  During my first semester my translations were bad, really bad.  Exasperated, he wrote on one of my master-pieces that if I do not pull myself up on all fours, I would not get very far with my studies.  It put the fear of God in me and from that day on, I immersed myself in my studies by reading as many French books, newspapers and magazines as I could.  I watched French news whenever possible. Four years later, I came out with a 1st Class Honours degree.

How do you define success?

To lead a healthy, fulfilled and charitable life.

How do you manage stress?

I don’t - I just live with it. However, cold plunges in the sea do help.

What are your career regrets?

I had the opportunity to live and work in France for period of time after my graduation. I let that opportunity pass. I should have seized it.

What inspires or motivates you?

To set myself apart from the others and constantly improve in whatever I am doing.

What advice would you give to your 16-year-old self?

Save and invest. Eat single ingredient foods and exercise regularly. Easy habits that can be quickly implemented.

Something about yourself that is not on your CV?

Come late summer and early autumn and you will find me sniffing out the finest Porcini mushrooms amongst the Welsh woods and fields.

One piece of advice or insight that has changed your life and from whom?

It came from my father-in-law. He said to try to be humble and generous in whatever you do.

What is your Desert Island Disc?

Va Pensiero and Di Quella Pira from Verdi’s Nabucco and Il Trovatore