James from Pinball Inc is retiring

[swinks]

saw this on pinside

"After 35 years of being in the pinball business and almost 13 years of Pinball Inc manufacturing quality replacement ramps for pinball machines I have decided to retire from the ramp manufacturing business. It is time to pursue other projects, other interests and other matters.

There are currently six new projects which we are working on that I have promised to complete so I will continue until such time they are completed. I estimate these projects should be completed in 6 to 10 months, my goal is to be done by the end of 2014. We will attend two more shows this year, next months Allentown Show and the Chicago Expo.

At this time it has not been determined what will become of the ramp manufacturing business of Pinball Inc. There are options/offers being considered which may or may not continue the manufacturing of ramps. If this happens we will update with any development at the appropriate time. In the meantime current inventories will be sold as before but will likely not be re-stocked so as the inventory sells off the stock might be NLA unless other options with the manufacturing are determined.

It’s been a great experience and I enjoyed it immensely. In the 12 years+ we’ve shipped out over 30,000 ramps, over 5000 last year alone ( a new record). It’s a good feeling to know that we’ve help many people repair/restore their machines. The ramp business has allowed me to meet many great people in the community, many of which are now very close friends, for that I am forever grateful.

I’ve always wanted to go out on top and under my own terms and now’s the time. Regardless of the outcome of the ramp business, Pinball Inc (and I) will remain at some capacity in the Pinball community.

Thanks everyone!!

James Loflin
Pinball Inc."

[Pop Bumper Pete]

Maybe Mike (Homepin) will buy the molds
he has the vacuforming equipment


anyhoo, I am sure somebody will pick this up, James is smart enough to move the equipment on

[skywalker]

Good luck to him, admire people that finish there business venture on top & move on knowing they have done well, not easy to do in today's climate,

Go Mike, another opportunity knocking       

[swinks]

Agree luke, he has had a good innings and if he was smart which I am sure he is he should sell the business to benefit from the retirement of all those years of hard work. I reckon Rick from Planetary would try hard to get it.

[pinnies4me]

A sad day for pinball - James' ramps have been the mainstream ramp go to for a long time - high quality, well priced - hopefully the business is acquired by someone as honest as James.

[pinsanity]

A sad day for pinball - James' ramps have been the mainstream ramp go to for a long time - high quality, well priced - hopefully the business is acquired by someone as honest as James.

RTBB fits that criterion as he is about the only local supplier in pinball who hasn't publicly rubbished his competitor's products at one stage or another.  

I agree with swinks though, PPS will put in an offer for this (if just for the molds themselves to stop them falling into the "wrong hands".).

[Pintoxicated]

Sad to hear James is pulling the pin on ramp manufacture.  All the very best to him and I'll be looking forward to see what he comes up with next.

Let's hope that whoever does buy the business maintains the quality and pricing as they are now.

[Strangeways]

I'm kinda hoping this is a late "April Fool's" joke, as it is something i would not expect. Having said that, James has been fortunate enough to produce the best ramps for over 12 years (?). We have been fortunate enough to have access to his superior products through RTBB.

I can't speak highly enough of James, who has always conducted business with the utmost of honesty and integrity. His ramps will outlive the games that they are installed in. If he is retiring, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank him for making my restorations complete with his creations.

[Caveoftreasures]

I asked him for years n years to do a Bugs Bunny front left ramp but never got a positive response even though I offered a lot of money to pay for the set up costs. Then, I asked Mark C to make me one/some, and within a few months he produced a decent sized run of Bugs Bunny ramps which helped to save my 2 x Bugs Bunny machines and the ramps are perfect and would have helped a lot of people out for sure.

That was my only experience. I guess everyone has had different experiences, but kudos for the guy cause he did keep a lot of machines alive with ramps I guess. Hope he enjoys his retirement.

[Retropin]

It was James and Gene who went to the table of WILLIAMS for me to get permission from WMS to produce stencils for their games. They had never met me, but presented my case none the less. Not many people like that in the world and I was and still am VERY grateful for the information they then provided. It has helped me greatly.
I take my hat off to you James and wish you all the best in your next venture. Whatever it is, I know that it will be done with utmost integrity.
Good luck to you mate..

Gav

[Greg]

Agree luke, he has had a good innings and if he was smart which I am sure he is he should sell the business to benefit from the retirement of all those years of hard work. I reckon Rick from Planetary would try hard to get it.

I'm hearing WG

[ghali]

I'm hearing WG