'Gold-to-Go'
taps into gold fever with ATMs by Amanda Cooper
| updated 9/27/2010 4:01:43 PM ET
German firm plans to introduce machines
in the United States this year.
BERLIN — A German firm that installs
and manages gold vending machines aims to introduce them
into the United States this year as it expands rapidly to
take advantage of demand for bullion in times of economic
uncertainty.
Thomas Geissler, creator of the Gold to
Go brand and chief executive of Ex Oriente Lux, told Reuters
on the sidelines of the London Bullion Market Association
conference that the company aims to issue a "couple
of hundred" machines next year.
Gold to Go launched its first ATM in Abu
Dhabi's Emirates Palace hotel in May. They are now operating
in luxury hotels in Abu Dhabi, Bergamo and Madrid as well
as around Germany.
"This year we will issue around 35
machines, and for next year we are looking for bigger numbers,"
Geissler said on Monday, standing in front of one of the
ATMS, which was colored and shaped like a giant gold ingot
close to 2 meters tall.
The machines, which update the gold price
every 10 minutes to match international markets, take cash
or credit cards and dispense small bars — including
1 gram, 5 gram, 10 gram and 1 ounce units — as well
as coins such as South African Krugerrands, Australian Kangaroos
and the Canadian Maple Leaf.
The company's plans include expansion into
the United States this year, first in Florida and then in
Las Vegas, Geissler said.
As for major gold consumers India and China,
that will have to wait for next year, he said. "We
have large interest in these countries," he said. "This
is the task for next year." Gold's rally this year
has come largely as a product of investor unease over the
economy.
This nervousness has been reflected in high
sales of coins and bars from national mints, particularly
last year as the world emerged from recession and this year
as concerns have persisted about the risks to recovery.
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With the gold price near record highs, there is a danger
that demand from people on the street for gold products
could tail off, however.
"Whether gold drops to $500 or goes
to $2,000, we are living from small spreads, and we give
people the best price they can get on a minute basis in
the machine, so we're pretty fine with any price,"
Geissler said.
Gold to Go, which obtains the gold bars
from refiners in Germany and Switzerland, first tested the
machines in 2009.
Spot gold was quoted at $1,297.95 an ounce
at 1235 GMT on Monday, up by over 18 percent this year and
by over 80 percent since the unfolding of the credit crisis
in late 2008.