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Roll it. Wrap it. Bag it. - Pinball Protection - Pinball Expo 2025 - Pinball News

Pinball News (Pinball Expo 2025)·video·15m 18s·analyzed·Oct 17, 2025
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.023

TL;DR

Missing Pin Co. showcases reusable pinball transport/storage products at Expo.

Summary

Wes Merkel and Ed Owens from Missing Pin Company presented their pinball machine transportation and protection product line at Pinball Expo 2025, including a cabinet wrap, leg carrier bag, tool bag, and pinball pouch. The presentation emphasized quality construction (plastic clips instead of Velcro, double-stitched straps, canvas-lined bags) and user-friendly design principles, with practical demonstrations of how their products reduce the pain of moving and setting up pinball machines. The company positions itself as a small, boutique, women-owned operation with in-house manufacturing and custom work capabilities.

Key Claims

  • Missing Pin Company moves pinball machines at least twice a year (Midnight Bus Gaming Classic and Pinball Expo) and uses their own products

    high confidence · Wes Merkel stated they move pins at least twice yearly and 'we don't just make the product, we use the product'

  • Plastic clips on Missing Pin products are superior to Velcro because Velcro has limited reuse lifespan while plastic clips function long-term and are replaceable

    high confidence · Ed Owens explained 'Velcro has a limited times of use and the plastic clips will always...be functioning' and are replaceable if broken

  • The cabinet wrap straps are double-stitched and will not fail when securing machines valued at four to five figures

    high confidence · Presenter stated straps 'are double stitched so they will not fail' with emphasis on certainty

  • Over-tightening moving blankets with ratchet straps can cause indents in cabinet wood; Missing Pin's strap design distributes load evenly to prevent this

    high confidence · Presenter noted people 'have a tendency to over-tighten' with blankets/ratchets causing indents, but their webbing makes this 'nay impossible'

  • Ed Owens drop-tested the leg carrier from three-and-a-half feet onto concrete with no damage to powder coat finish

    high confidence · Owens described accidental drop during setup and confirmed 'my powder coating is all good'

  • Missing Pin Company is a three to four person, women-owned, in-house manufacturing operation based in the Midwest

    high confidence · Wes Merkel stated 'we are a three person, four person company' and 'everything being made in house'

  • Cabinet wrap is currently only offered in black, but different colors may be added if demand is high enough

    high confidence · Presenter stated 'at this point we do only offer it in black but...if the demand is high enough we may offer different colors'

  • Leg carrier bags offer customization including embroidery, multiple colors, and label holders for distinguishing between multiple machines

Notable Quotes

  • “Pinball machines by nature do not want to be moved. They like to stay right where they're at, and our job is to reduce that pain and suffering as much as we can.”

    Wes Merkel@ 1:23 — Sets the problem statement and mission for the company's product line

  • “If we can reduce the amount of waste with shrink wrap being single use, removes the effort of moving blankets, we make it easier to bring in pins to shows like Expo, MGC, TPF, and many others, because without the pin bringers, you don't have a show.”

    Wes Merkel@ 2:06 — Emphasizes the broader industry value of their products for supporting the show circuit

  • “The plastic also is good good for cabinet wrap because it's going to protect it if it's not going to chip your glass it's not going to chip anything with like a metal fastener wood so it's the best it's going to be a long-term use.”

    Ed Owens@ 4:05 — Explains material choice rationale for protecting high-value machines

  • “When you're moving your game that four, maybe five figures, you can guarantee that it is safely secured.”

    Wes Merkel@ 5:12 — Emphasizes reliability for protecting expensive machines

  • “The leg carrier bag is going to be your insurance. And I'd also like to point out that while our cabinet wrap at this point is strictly only in black, our leg carriers, we do offer high customizability.”

    Ed Owens@ 7:47 — Frames product as protection investment and highlights customization capability

  • “If you're an operator moving a game either from point A to point B, or if you're picking up a game and you're immediately going to set it up at home, being able to have everything in one spot all at once is going to reduce a lot of time and headache.”

Entities

Missing Pin CompanycompanyWes MerkelpersonEd OwenspersonPinball ExpoeventMidnight Bus Gaming ClassiceventPinball MayhemcompanyChicago Game CompanycompanyStern PinballcompanyEd BurkepersonDavid Fixperson

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Missing Pin Company is a women-owned operation with in-house manufacturing, direct customer access, and openness to custom work and critical feedback

    high · Explicit statement of women-owned company status; emphasis on 3-4 person team handling all calls/emails directly; commitment to custom work and feedback incorporation

  • ?

    community_signal: Missing Pin Company actively participates in show circuit twice yearly (MGC, Expo, TPF) and uses their own products operationally, demonstrating commitment to community and credibility

    high · Stated practice of moving machines at least twice yearly and testing products in real-world conditions; partnerships with show organizers

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Company applies user-friendly design principles (Don Norman inspired) with emphasis on omnidirectional utility, reduced cognitive load, and solving real-world operator pain points

    medium · Reference to Don Norman 'Design of Everyday Things'; specific design choices like omnidirectional cabinet wrap, all-in-one tool bag, label holders for multiple machines

  • $

    market_signal: Missing Pin Company positions itself as boutique alternative to generic moving solutions, targeting both individual collectors and operators with quality-focused, customizable products

    high · Emphasis on in-house manufacturing, custom embroidery, multiple colors, label holders, and bespoke work capability; small 3-4 person team structure

  • ?

    product_strategy: Missing Pin Company emphasizes plastic clips over Velcro, double-stitched straps, canvas-lined construction, and omni-directional cabinet wrap design as key differentiators from standard moving blankets/shrink wrap approaches

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.046

0:00
Impressed. This presentation is Wrap It, Roll It, Bag It, Moving Pins with the Missing Pin Company. As I've been so dutifully introduced, my name is Wes Merkel, also known as The Beard for obvious reason.
0:18
I'm with the Missing Pin Company as the Director of Sales and Marketing. I've been with the hobby for about five years, introduced by the illustrious Ed Owens of Pinball Mayhem. and I've been doing trade shows for about two years. Now, Ed, who so graciously is helping finishing up some technical difficulties with the pinball machine, he's been doing it about 20 years and he is one of our main technical advisors for The Missing Pin. When we come out with a new product, he is our first one to R&D to make sure that what comes out to you is good for moving pins and is well tested.
0:55
We move pins at least twice a year, one for Midnight Bus Gaming Classic and then also for Pinball Expo. So needless to say, when we talk about transporting pins, we've done it. We don't just make the product, we use the product. Now, quick show of hands for today, who here has ever had to break down and move a pinball machine? Right? Good. Pain in the butt, right? Like pinball machines by nature do not want to be moved. They like to stay right where they're at, and our job is to reduce that pain and suffering as much as we can. We do so by making it to where we have a leg carrier bag, so when you take off the legs of the cabinet, you can store them. It's down over here. It is down over there, and the lovely assistant will show it off shortly, along with a cabinet wrap, which will be demonstrated at the end of this talk, along with a 10-inch tool bag for being able to store your pin wrench, your hex wrench, power cord, and whatever else you may need. Hence, the wrap it, the cabinet, roll it with the leg carrier, and bag whatever bolts you have.

high confidence · Ed Owens described 'high customizability' with 'embroidery for your gc initials' and 'label holder so if you have several games'

Wes Merkel@ 9:33 — Explains practical value proposition for different customer segments

  • “When you call us or email us, it's not a phone tree. It's not an automated response. We are a three person, four person company. And so you will talk to a real life human being.”

    Wes Merkel@ 12:17 — Differentiates company based on customer service and accessibility

  • “Our main ethos is, again, quality and functionality. We don't just expect critical response, but we highly encourage it.”

    Wes Merkel@ 13:02 — Summarizes company values and commitment to community feedback

    • Don Garrisonperson
    Don's Pinball Podcastorganization
    Texas Pinball Festivalevent

    high · Multiple product feature explanations emphasizing material choices (plastic vs Velcro, canvas vs fleece-only, double-stitched construction) and design thinking

  • ?

    product_concern: Product development prioritizes durability and long-term use with drop-tested leg carriers, replaceable components, and failure-resistant construction designed for machines valued at $4,000-$15,000+

    high · Ed Owens' 3.5-foot drop test with no powder coat damage; emphasis on plastic clip replaceability and non-fail stitching

    • 2:06
    Because the way we see it, if we can reduce the amount of waste with shrink wrap being single use, removes the effort of moving blankets, we make it easier to bring in pins to shows like Expo, MGC, TPF, and many others, because without the pin bringers, you don't have a show.
    2:26
    And with that, I will hand this off to Mr. Owens to talk about some of the design element decisions of our products. All right. So the leg bag really, I'll show it, not hit you in the face.
    2:39
    The leg bag was the first product I've been with working with Missing Pin as a research and development and pretty much this is the first thing that we really saw a need of and when going to shows new powder coating or I had automotive paint on one of my games and I didn't want to chip it so how do you move it how do you you protect that and that's where the prototype came along my mom sewed that up off of a napkin sketch and it did the job and and when it came time to improve the product the missing pin really took it to the next level and it's just it's impressive with the quality and the sewing and so you could throw all four legs in there most lengths and there's also a pouch for your wrench your leg bolts so when I got my game here today I was able to pretty much set it up without going into another bag I had the leg bag of the game it set up now and ready to be plugged in so the one of the advantages of these are the big advantages of quality again is the plastic clips over velcro Velcro has a limited times of use and the plastic clips will always you know be functioning and yeah you say it's plastic what are you break one you can replace them they're plastic but the the plastic also is good good for cabinet wrap because it's going to protect it if it's not going to chip your glass it's not going to chip anything with like a metal fastener wood so it's the best it's going to stay it's going to be a long-term use so let's get into talking about the nitty-gritty of the different products we have i'm going to start with talking about the cabinet wrap now the nice thing is i don't know if any of you have ever read the works of don norman design of everyday things we make it as user-friendly as possible to make sure we reduce headache and other issues. So with our cabinet wrap, it is designed to be used omnidirectionally, which means if you put it on right side down, upside right, whatever, it'll work as intended. As with all of our products, plastic clips, no Velcro, which Ed so graciously is modeling for us right now. Not only that, but when we have this strap design, they are double stitched so they will not fail. Not they may not fail, they will not fail. So when you're moving your game that four, maybe five figures, you can guarantee that it is safely secured. With those straps, one of the things we've noticed that when people use moving blankets and ratchet straps, they have a tendency to over-tighten and then put indents in the side of the wood cabinet. With our strap webbing, it is nay impossible to over tighten it because it distributes the load evening over the cabinet i referred earlier that using cling wrap as we all know is single use this is a reusable elegant solution to a single use product and at this point we do only offer it in black but moving forward if the demand is high enough we may may offer different colors but at this point It is only offered in black. Ed, with the leg carrier.
    6:09
    Yeah, to go more into the leg carrier, I did cover a lot of the points already. Kind of jumped around a little bit. Sorry, Wes. It's cool. They got it.
    6:19
    Now, the new version is, rather than just being a full fleece bag like the prototype really was the original one, this has the fleece lining on the inside to protect everything, but it also has the strong canvas outside so that it's protected. Actually, when I was setting up the game, the first time I used it, I had it on the top of the game. The next thing you do is you pick up the game to take the back legs off. The leg rolled right off, fell on the ground, so about a three-and-a-half-foot drop. No damage to my brand-new powder coat, which is, unfortunately, fortunately I was able to drop test the product right away. and my powder coating is all good so and that was for the ghost in the shell out there security we have a handle and a shoulder strap on them as well so you can carry it by the handle but the great part is when you're getting to the shows with long Doc's like out here or MGC you can put it on your shoulder you can put the game on a hand truck you can grab it grab your your parts bag or your coin box bag and you can walk in one trip from your car and your one pin is in the show where it needs to be rather than having to go back and forth for the legs or you don want to mar your cabinets if your legs aren wrapped up and they banging on the cabinet you going to have problems So it pretty much trying to protect going back to what Wes has pointed we trying to protect your investment And it always a good idea If you're spending thousands of dollars on a pinball, the leg carrier bag is going to be your insurance.
    7:54
    And I'd also like to point out that while our cabinet wrap at this point is strictly only in black, our leg carriers, we do offer high customizability. visibility so we offer embroidery for your gc initials uh several colors which i'm sure we can if you're looking for a specific color email us talk to us we'll see what we can do to set you up as well as offering a label holder so if you have several games you're moving if you're a distributor an operator this allows you to label what's in that leg carrier so you're not having to unzip each bag try to find it you know and go from there moving along and there's a color swatches at the booth there would be if we brought them oh they're they talk to them at the booth they'll be able to show you examples of the colors or be able to talk about the colors available exactly moving quickly on to our tool bag which
    8:57
    We have here, which I know for those in the back, this doesn't look that impressive, but I assure you, it is of the same canvas over fleece design of many of our products. You know, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. It is a 10 inch design allowing you to fit your pin wrench, your Allen key, as I mentioned earlier.
    9:14
    And if need be, this can also all in one fit your power cord and your leg bolts along with your missing pin company ball pouch as well. Now, one of the criticisms I received when I was first marketing the grab-and-go tool bag is, why would I put my power cord and my leg bolts in with my tools? Simply put, if you're an operator moving a game either from point A to point B, or if you're picking up a game and you're immediately going to set it up at home, being able to have everything in one spot all at once is going to reduce a lot of time and headache because you don't have to try to remember where did you put your pinballs, where did you put your leg bolts, where's the power cord all things need to set up a pin all in one and you can use it for long-term storage but not expected it also is very good I think I covered all the routers you know distributors it's all there and to jump in a little bit um one thing with the pin tool bag and the lake bag and to think about if you're ever going to buy a game and it's been one of the dressed stuff, powder coating or whatever. How many people, how many here has bought a game, hauled it out of the basement, put it in the car, paid the guy, drove away, and five miles later realized you left the legs in the basement? It happens to all of us. We leave something there. If you have your tool bag, you're putting everything in. You have your leg bag, you're putting everything in. When you're hand trucking that out the stairs, you could have that leg bag on top of the cabinet head, or you could have it with you right away so you don't have to say oh shoot I forgot something but I know I'm not the only person obviously the only one here but you're special that way yeah yeah I know we've all a lot of people have done that and that's also a nice little addition to having one and I always have a leg bag in my car just in case I find that right deal and in the leg bag is the tools required to break down any game I could buy.
    11:16
    Yeah. Our basic goal is to be able to take a pen, set it up anywhere. Well if you have the carrier you got the wrap you got your tool bag you know whether it on the top mountain or middle of a convention hall you have everything you need to make it as easy as possible Segueing into our final product that we going to be talking about today is the Missing Pin Pinball Ball Carrier, which I do want to side note that we are a women-owned company, obviously, trying to figure out what to call a thing that carries pinballs or balls for short. There was a lot of work that went into the correct naming. I'll use your imagination from there. The pinball pouch can hold six pinballs, you know, typical for an average modern game. It is zippered, not Velcro. And currently it is also available only in black, but it does have the embroidery option.
    12:10
    To wrap it up for today, the last thing I want to touch upon is who we are as a company and what our ethos is. when you call us or email us, it's not a phone tree. It's not an automated response. We are a three person, four person company. And so you will talk to a real life human being. And if you're looking for something specific or unique with everything being made in house, we can work with you. You know, we don't have to send out plans overseas, work with a, another company and go snowball effect from there with everything very boutique and bespoke. We're more than happy. And In fact, we pride ourselves in being able to do custom work.
    12:51
    And with the accessibility, we also enjoy the feedback because that's how we make a better product. We know that while we think an idea may be great, there may be something we're missing. So when you reach out and give us critical response, we don't just expect it, but we highly encourage it.
    13:10
    Our main ethos is, again, quality and functionality. And I'd like to round it out with saying real quick thanks to Ed Burke and Ms. Burke for helping put on the show and allowing us to give this presentation. Quick thanks to David Fix for helping us last second with the broken pen wrench. That is, in fact, a new one. And I want to thank Ed Owens for joining me today to help with the presentation. I've been a little help.
    13:40
    So we're going to wrap this up for now. the part that you've been waiting for the bread and the butter is going to be actually showing you how to use our products and of course we have a little when we brought the pin in you may have noticed that we weren't using all the products because it was loaned to us that way so we're going to be showing how to install the pin wrap we're going to install that we're install everything break that game down and also a quick thanks to Don's pinball podcast by Mr. Donald Garrison who has so graciously donated the pinball machine to be demonstrated on today. So if you have a chance, check them out on Spotify. Very entertaining and very informational. Absolutely worth a check out. And we are pretty short for time today. So if there's any questions, make sure we can answer some of them when we're breaking it down. But really, we would prefer to just stop by the booth down on the vendor floor and we'd be more than happy to talk to you to demonstrate all the products. And the last thing I'll say, you know, this is a Midwest goodbye, by the way. This is how we do it in the Midwest. One last thing. I also want to point out that our location for the booth is behind the Chicago Game Company, just the right of Stern Pinball. So you can't miss them, so you can't miss us. So thank you all again for coming. Hopefully this has been equally informational as well as it was entertaining. Hopefully you guys have a good expo, and we'll see you all next year. And now we'll be breaking down, so if you guys do want to see more, feel free to come up closer and this is the conclusion of our presentation.