# Dealer Deals

**Source:** Pinball News Website  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2005-10-04  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/news/heaven2.html

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## Analysis

In October 2005, Wayne Gillard's The Pinball Factory established a UK distributor network through Pinball Heaven and secured distribution in 20 countries globally, including Canada via PinWest. The company began selling newly available pinball parts and games, marking a shift toward specialized smaller distributors over former WMS resellers.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Wayne Gillard appointed Pinball Heaven as UK and Western Europe distributor for The Pinball Factory — _Direct statement from Pinball News article dated October 4, 2005_
- [HIGH] The Pinball Factory secured distributors in 20 countries utilizing existing and former WMS resellers — _Article states 'The Pinball Factory now has distributors in 20 other countries'_
- [HIGH] Pinball Heaven would cover eight European countries initially (Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden) until local distributors established — _Direct quote from Phil Palmer, Pinball Heaven owner_
- [HIGH] Phil Palmer characterized smaller specialized pinball distributors as better equipped than WMS to serve customers unfamiliar with parts and machines — _Direct quote from Phil Palmer criticizing WMS distribution model_
- [HIGH] PinWest in Canada was founded by David Eisner to distribute The Pinball Factory products — _Direct statement from article identifying David Eisner as PinWest founder_

### Notable Quotes

> "Its good to see someone with sense like Wayne Gillard finally making it into the pinball industry. WMS just couldn't see that smaller companies who specialized in one sector of the amusement business (pinball) were much better equipped to deal with customers"
> — **Phil Palmer, Pinball Heaven owner**, October 4, 2005
> _Criticism of Williams/Bally distribution strategy and endorsement of specialized smaller distributors_

> "We're anxiously waiting for Oct 12th when Wayne officially takes over and can start selling his products to the World"
> — **Phil Palmer, Pinball Heaven owner**, October 4, 2005
> _Indicates official product launch date for The Pinball Factory_

> "Through some tough negotiation we secured an excellent deal with ParcelForce Worldwide enabling us to ship parts to EU countries within 48 hours"
> — **Phil Palmer, Pinball Heaven owner**, October 4, 2005
> _Details on logistics infrastructure for European distribution_

> "I founded PinWest in the hopes of bring unique pinball-related items to the pinball community. Wayne has been excellent to deal with and communications have always gone well."
> — **David Eisner, PinWest founder**, October 4, 2005
> _Positive relationship between distributor and Gillard; indicates early engagement with international expansion_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Wayne Gillard | person | Founder of The Pinball Factory; appointed new distributor network in 2005 |
| The Pinball Factory | company | Pinball parts and games manufacturer/distributor founded by Wayne Gillard |
| Pinball Heaven | company | UK-based pinball parts distributor appointed as official UK and Western Europe distributor for The Pinball Factory |
| Phil Palmer | person | Owner of Pinball Heaven; negotiated distribution deal with The Pinball Factory |
| PinWest | company | Canadian pinball distributor founded by David Eisner; contracted to sell The Pinball Factory products |
| David Eisner | person | Founder of PinWest; previously known for creating Lord of the Rings ramp mods |
| Williams/Bally (WMS) | company | Former major pinball manufacturer whose distribution strategy was critiqued by Pinball Heaven owner |
| ParcelForce Worldwide | company | Shipping partner for Pinball Heaven providing EU logistics within 48 hours |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Distribution Network Expansion, Pinball Parts Availability
- **Secondary:** International Logistics, Distributor Business Model, Aftermarket Parts Manufacturing

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.82) — Article presents The Pinball Factory expansion favorably; distributors express enthusiasm and satisfaction with partnership. Implicit criticism of WMS distribution model is presented constructively in context of specialized alternatives.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Availability of extensive Williams pinball parts catalog through new distribution channels, addressing customer access gap (confidence: high) — Detailed list of newly available parts including MM Drawbridge, Castle Gates, WPC coin doors, dot matrix displays, and numerous other components
- **[business_signal]** The Pinball Factory successfully established global distribution infrastructure across 20+ countries, signaling entry into aftermarket parts market post-WMS era (confidence: high) — Article confirms 'The Pinball Factory now has distributors in 20 other countries' and details establishment of Pinball Heaven network
- **[market_signal]** Shift from WMS-dominated distribution to specialized smaller distributors indicated by Phil Palmer's criticism and establishment of focused aftermarket parts network (confidence: high) — Phil Palmer quote: 'WMS just couldn't see that smaller companies who specialized in one sector of the amusement business (pinball) were much better equipped to deal with customers'

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## Transcript

Story dated
October 4, 2005 , updated October 12, 2005.

With the expectation of a slew of new products coming out later this month, Wayne Gillard has appointed Pinball Heaven as distributors for the UK and much of Western Europe.

Phil Palmer, owner of Pinball Heaven told Pinball News: "Its good to see someone with sense like Wayne Gillard finally making it into the pinball
industry. WMS just couldn't see that smaller companies
who specialized in one sector of the amusement business (pinball) were much
better equipped to deal with customers who didn't really know what part they
wanted or how their machine was supposed to work! Thankfully that has now

changed with our appointment as UK distributor."

Phil will stock parts and eventually games from The Pinball Factory and will ship them not just to the UK but also to eight European countries - Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden - until local distributors are established. The new parts will be added to Pinball Heaven's on-line catalogue of over a thousand pinball parts.

Phil told us: "We're anxiously waiting for Oct 12th when Wayne officially takes
over and can start selling his products to the World but what are those
products I hear you ask? Well we've all seen the first posted list on
pinball.com bulletin boards but we'll have to wait a bit longer for the
full list. As soon as we know what will be available and at what price, we
will add the products to our already extensive website catalogue."

Regarding shipping outside the UK, Pinball Heaven have already made arrangements.  "We already ship more parts internationally than we do nationally so
when we were also given 8 European countries to look after until
distributors in those countries were found we were delighted. Through some
tough negotiation we secured an excellent deal with ParcelForce Worldwide
enabling us to ship parts to EU countries within 48 hours if the customer
requested such, even next day to Sweden and a few other EU Countries for

just £25 or less!"

But Pinball Heaven are not alone.  The Pinball Factory now has distributors in 20 other countries utilising a mixture of existing and former WMS resellers and some new companies.

One such is PinWest in Canada.  Set up by David Eisner who made the Lord Of The Rings ramp featured here in Pinball News, PinWest have also contracted to sell games produced by The Pinball Factory.

David told Pinball News: "I founded PinWest in the hopes of bring unique pinball-related
items to the pinball community. I contacted Wayne very early in the
development of his line of pinball machines and parts. Wayne has been excellent to deal with and communications
have always gone well. I hope to bring his line of pinball machines

primarily to the Canadian collector at competitive prices."

With a large number of parts already announced and more to come, pinball owners should have easier access through their local distributors than ever before after October 12th.

UPDATE

Now the 12th has arrived and some of those new products have appeared in distributors' parts list.

The parts announced by The Pinball Factory as being newly available are shown below but bear in mind that they couldn't be sold to distributors until the 12th October so may take a while to arrive or to be added to the various companies' web sites.

MM Drawbridge
MM Castle Gates
MM Troll Carriages
MM Troll Switches
MM Castle Top
MM Castle right
MM Castles Main
MM Castle door
MM Playfield decal set for flaps/drawbridge etc
Legs - Chrome/Gold/Black
Levellers - 3" OEM Williams ones
Leg Plates with Pem nuts
Lockdown Bars - Standard size
All the black plastic Moldings for backglasses / playfield sides and rear etc.
JM spinner decals
CV cabinet decals
WPC single and double coin doors
128 x 32 dot matrix displays
"W Williams Flipper Bats
Flipper Bushings
01-12356 and 01-12356-1 Microswitch mounting Brackets
01-5492
Belts for Fishtales/Hurricane/Cyclone
A-14028 and A-14030
02-4668 plunger
Arabian Nights Lamp
CV/SWEP1 Neon Transformers
03-7034-9 light hoods
03-7034-13 light hoods
Slingsot kicker mtg brackets
Pop Bumper mtg brackets
H channel display panel plastic
Scared Stiff coffin lid
Full range of targets all colors

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_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 73db7bf1-5453-4873-b2b6-a851cd3b116c*