50 years of Volumatic
2022 marked the 50th Anniversary of Volumatic. From humble beginnings that saw our founder, entrepeneur Frank Pegg, establishing a security business selling retail security solutions such as mirrors, clothing tags and early secure cash deposit units, the company has gone from strength to strength.
After being acquired by Halma in 1982, and then acquiring cash handling company Omal, Volumatic narrowed down its remit to specialise in cash handling solutions, and over the last 50 years has become the company we know today, being the first to bring an all-encompassing cash handling solution to the market, known today as the CounterCache intelligent (CCi), and also being the first to offer a five year warranty and the first to offer a touch screen money-counting scale, the CountEasy TS.
A lot has happened over the last 50 years of Volumatic's history. In addition to the design, manufacture and launch of our industry-leading cash handling solutions and receiving the prestigious honour of The Queen's Award for Innovation for the CCi in 2011, Volumatic has grown both in size and stature, securing partnerships with the likes of Tesco, The Co-op Food Group, Wilko, Morrisons and Genting Casino in the UK and Target, Burger King, Petco and NBC Universal Studios in the U.S, as well as many more leading names across the globe. We work with anyone who handles cash, from huge retailers to independant stores, banks, leisure companies, restaurants, QSRs and petrol forecourts. We punch above our weight, priding ourselves on the ethos of being 'big enough to cope and small enough to care', and we offer unrivalled customer service and aftersales support to all our customers.
We've also invested a great deal in our people, growing from a handful of employees in the beginning to over 45 in our head office based in Coventry, in the West Midlands. In 2021 we were awarded a Silver Investors in People (IIP) award, which reflects how well we look after our staff, and we are always commited to supporting our people at Volumaitc, both personally and professionally.
The world has also changed a great deal since we first formed Volumatic Ltd. Back in 1972 we were listening to Don McLean's American Pie and Nilsson's Without You; we were watching The Godfather and The Poseidon Adventure at the cinema, and we were reading The Stepford Wives and Charlie & The Great Glass Elevator! And we can say we're now officially the same age as ABBA, the jet-ski, Mastermind, Liam Gallagher and Gwyneth Paltrow to name but a few!
Today, Volumatic prides itself in being a leader in cash handling solutions across the globe and also and expert in the cash handling industry we know and love.
To celebrate our momentous birthday, we've released a video featuring our employees, discussing our history, recent successes and the future:
Looking back to our cash roots, we've also taken a look back at how much things cost back in 1972 (one to show your kids!), along with some interesting cash facts from the last 50 years...
Cost of Living in the UK in 1972
- Average weekly wage - £32
- Average house price - £7,000
- Ford Cortina car - £1,022
- Package holiday to Spain - between £40-£150
- Colour TV licence - £12 (£7 for Black & White)
- Cinema tickets for two people – 90p
- Gallon of petrol - 35p
- First Class stamp - 3p
- Pint of milk - 5p
- Can of coke - 6½p
- Bag of crisps - 3p
- Pint of Beer - 14p-18p
- Bottle of wine - £1
Cash News from the last 50 years
Following decimalisation in 1971, here are the main cash-related events of the last 50 years:
- 1983 - Britain introduces the £1 coin
- 1987 - The stock market plummets on Black Monday
- 1990 – New 5p coin enters circulation
- 1998 – New £2 coin enters circulation
- 1999 – Most of the EU start using the new Euro currency
- 2016 – New £5 polymer note enters circulation
- 2017 – New £10 polymer note and new 12-sided £1 coin enters circulation
- 2019 - Bank of England welcomes Access to Cash review
- 2020 – New £20 polymer note enters circulation
- 2021 – New £50 polymer note enters circulation
- 2022 - UK population turns back to cash to help them budget amid cost-of-living crisis