RePlay Magazine Podcast host Randy Chilton had the great pleasure of sitting down with industry icon and member of the Amusement Industry Hall of Fame Malcolm Steinberg for Episode 7. People in the coin machine world will know Malcolm from his years at the helm of LAI Group, but what many might not know is how he entered the amusement industry.
Impatient to get started in business, Malcolm left high school early, and when he was 18, a vacation visit with an uncle led him to take 21 pinball machines and start Indoor Amusement Games in Perth, Australia. The year was 1958 and Malcolm was just 18 at the time. From that early operation to distributing, manufacturing and beyond – and from Australia to other parts of the world – his businesses continued to grow and expand. Today, a group of eight companies – including such well-known names as LAI Games, Embed and Timezone – bring in about a billion dollars in annual sales.
Malcolm’s son Adam leads those companies today, but you can quickly see that Malcolm is well-versed on the details, and at age 86, is still sharp as a tack. Today, he puts his energy into a philanthropic organization called the Malka Foundation that he started to honor his grandmother. It encourages and supports entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership in Western Australia to improve and grow the economy and quality of life for all in the region.
Enjoy learning more. We sure did!
