# Stern Adds More Staff

**Source:** Pinball News Website  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2014-07-16  
**Beat:** Pinball

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

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## Analysis

Stern Pinball announced two significant staff additions in July 2014: Paul Mandeltort, former VP of Marco Specialties, joined as Director of Parts and Accessories; and Chuck Bleich, a Williams/Midway veteran electrical engineer, joined as Senior Electronics Project Engineer. These hires suggest Stern's intention to expand its parts and accessories business beyond distributor supply and to strengthen product development capabilities.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Paul Mandeltort was Vice President of Marco Specialties until recently joining Stern — _Article explicitly states Mandeltort's previous role and his transition to Stern as Director, Parts and Accessories_
- [HIGH] Marco Specialties served as Stern's de-facto roadshow crew for exhibitions and merchandise sales — _Article describes Marco Specialties' close ties with Stern as their roadshow partner at shows and exhibitions_
- [HIGH] Chuck Bleich worked at Williams Pinball from 1978 to 1999 as Electrical Engineering Manager — _Article provides specific employment dates and role at Williams_
- [HIGH] Chuck Bleich co-invented the zero-crossing triac-controlled lighting system used in WPC games — _Article lists specific patents and innovations attributed to Bleich_
- [MEDIUM] Stern's parts sales business had been 'mostly limited to supplying distributors' prior to this appointment — _Article states this as context for why Mandeltort's hire signals intent to expand into retail/aftermarket_

### Notable Quotes

> "Marco Specialties already had very close ties with Stern Pinball, being their de-facto roadshow crew taking the latest Stern games to shows and exhibitions, and selling assorted Stern merchandise alongside their own selection of parts and accessories."
> — **Article/Stern Pinball**
> _Establishes the strategic relationship between Marco Specialties and Stern, providing context for why Mandeltort's hire is significant_

> "It is thought this appointment signals the company's intention to expand their parts sales business - which has thus far been mostly limited to supplying distributors - and moving into sales of game mods and accessories which has thus far been left to after-market vendors."
> — **Article/Industry Observer**
> _Directly articulates the strategic intent behind Mandeltort's hire—Stern moving into direct aftermarket sales_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Stern Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer based in Melrose Park; adding staff to expand parts/accessories business and strengthen engineering |
| Paul Mandeltort | person | Former VP of Marco Specialties; hired by Stern as Director, Parts and Accessories; previously Product Marketing Manager at National Instruments |
| Chuck Bleich | person | Veteran electrical engineer; worked at Williams Pinball (1978-1999) as Electrical Engineering Manager; joined Stern as Senior Electronics Project Engineer; co-inventor of WPC lighting system and ball accelerator patents |
| Marco Specialties | company | Pinball parts distributor and Stern's de-facto roadshow partner; had close ties with Stern for exhibitions and merchandise sales |
| Williams Pinball | company | Legacy pinball manufacturer where Chuck Bleich worked until closure in 1999 |
| Midway Games | company | Company where Chuck Bleich worked after Williams, helping develop games including Bubbles |
| National Instruments | company | Company where Paul Mandeltort previously worked as Product Marketing Manager |
| Texas Pinball Festival 2014 | event | Event where Marco Specialties maintained a booth; referenced as example of Marco's presence at pinball exhibitions |
| Twilight Zone | game | Williams Pinball game that Chuck Bleich worked on as Electrical Engineering Manager |
| Cirqus Voltaire | game | Williams Pinball game that Chuck Bleich worked on as Electrical Engineering Manager |
| High Speed 2 - The Getaway | game | Williams game featuring the ball accelerator/supercharger patent co-invented by Chuck Bleich |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Personnel moves and hiring, Stern's parts and accessories business expansion strategy
- **Secondary:** Stern-Marco Specialties partnership, Product development and engineering capability, Williams Pinball legacy and talent migration

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Article presents both hires as positive developments for Stern, using language like 'proudly showing off' and highlighting the strategic value of both employees' experience and expertise. No critical or negative framing is present.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Stern signals intention to expand parts and accessories sales beyond distributor supply into direct aftermarket retail (confidence: high) — Article explicitly states: 'It is thought this appointment signals the company's intention to expand their parts sales business' and move into 'sales of game mods and accessories which has thus far been left to after-market vendors'
- **[personnel_signal]** Chuck Bleich, veteran Williams/Midway engineer, joins Stern as Senior Electronics Project Engineer (confidence: high) — Article provides detailed background on Bleich's 20+ year career in pinball and gaming engineering before joining Stern
- **[personnel_signal]** Paul Mandeltort transitions from Marco Specialties VP to Stern Director of Parts and Accessories (confidence: high) — Article explicitly documents the hire and Mandeltort's previous role at Marco Specialties
- **[business_signal]** Stern is strengthening product development and engineering capabilities by hiring senior engineer with extensive WPC-era patent portfolio (confidence: high) — Chuck Bleich joins as Senior Electronics Project Engineer with multiple significant patents (lighting systems, ball accelerator, lock bar mechanisms) from Williams/WPC era

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## Transcript

Date: 16th July, 2014

Stern Pinball have been proudly showing off the two latest additions to their Melrose Park-based team, which suggest ways they are looking to grow the company.

Paul Mandeltort is a familiar face to US pinball show attendees, being until recently Vice President of Marco Specialties.

Paul Mandeltort

Marco Specialties already had very close ties with Stern Pinball, being their de-facto roadshow crew taking the latest Stern games to shows and exhibitions, and selling assorted Stern merchandise alongside their own selection of parts and accessories.

The Marco Specialties stand at the Texas Pinball Festival 2014

Now Paul has taken his sales expertise learned at Marco Specialties, and before that as Product Marketing Manager at National Instruments, to Stern as Director, Parts and Accessories.

It is thought this appointment signals the company's intention to expand their parts sales business - which has thus far been mostly limited to supplying distributors - and moving into sales of game mods and accessories which has thus far been left to after-market vendors.

Stern's second new appointment is Charles (Chuck) Bleich.

Chuck Bleich

Chuck is no stranger either to the pinball business, nor to gaming in general, having worked at Williams Pinball as Electrical Engineering Manager from 1978 until they closed their doors at the end of 1999. It was in that capacity that he worked on games such as Twilight Zone, Cirqus Voltaire, No Fear and Roadshow.

He then transferred to Midway Games to help develop games such as Bubbles, before moving to the slots division of WMS Gaming as Principal Engineer.

Now he joins Stern Pinball as Senior Electronics Project Engineer in their product development team.

Among the pinball patents he co-invented are the zero-crossing triac-controlled lighting system used in WPC games, the ball accelerator used in High Speed 2 - The Getaway's supercharger, and the lock bar dual-release system used on Pinball 2000 games.

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: c3a2d4b1-53eb-4261-9bf8-5ea14e5d2724*