Automated teller machine shipments rose to new highs in 1995, according to The Nilson Report, an industry newsletter.
Shipments increased 14%, to 24,300 machines. Much of the growth was in low-end cash dispensers and machines for nontraditional locations.
Interbold, the Canton, Ohio-based joint venture of Diebold Inc. and International Business Machines, maintained its leading position, with 11,361 machines shipped.
Second-place NCR, which reverted to its original name from AT&T Global Information Solutions, lost ground. The AT&T subsidiary, based in Dayton, Ohio, shipped 7,055 units, down 15% from 1994.
Interbold sold 6,428 full-service units and 4,933 cash dispensers, for a 9% rise.
Newcomer Triton Systems Inc. vaulted to third place, shipping 2,921 cash-dispensing machines, versus only 75 the previous year. But Diebold expressed confidence in its line.
"Diebold has the only upgradeable machines, so new functionality can be placed in any unit purchased from 1986 on," said Ron Marguglio, the company's director of financial industry marketing.
He said Diebold upgraded 7,839 machines in 1994, and 11,731 machines in 1995, making them equivalent to new models.
Fujitsu ICL Systems Inc., with 1,812 machines shipped - half cash dispensers - fell to fourth place, behind Triton. Still, Fujitsu's shipments grew 25%.
David Baker, Dallas-based Fujitsu's director of marketing, said the company does not compete directly with such vendors as Triton and Tidel, another low-end cash-dispenser manufacturer, which sold 975 units in 1995. "We have a more high-end cash dispenser which is upgradeable to four denominations of bills, any combination of currency, stamp dispensing, and coupons," he said.
Triton made its mark with a cash dispenser that sells for $10,000 or less. Vice president Frank J. Wilem Jr. said the company targets locations like convenience stores, night clubs, small casinos, and hotels, where traffic may be light. He said his machines, with low maintenance and telecommunications costs, allow a proprietor to break even with a few hundred transactions a month.
Mr. Wilem said the company will focus on the financial services industry in 1996, pitching the low-end machines to banks for their less-traveled areas and for installation at merchant locations.
While full upgrades are not being considered, extra cassettes to hold stamps, phone cards or more cash will be available in 1996.
