Freeport vending machine maker experiencing international growth

FREEPORT, Ill. (WTVO) — A Stephenson County manufacturer has grown into an international force in the world of vending machines.

You probably have bought a drink or snack out of one of their machines and never even known about it. Seaga Manufacturing in Freeport has been in business for nearly 40 years. CEO Mike Freund has been with the company for over two of them.

“I love being here at Seaga,” said Freund. “We have a great set of customers out there that really enjoy and interact with us around the product. We have quality manufacturing facility here and we have a lot of great people on board here. Really a good team.”

It all started with Seaga’s SUPERVEND 2000, a dual candy dispenser. Freund said the company has come a long way from the old bubble gum machine. As technology advances, so does Seaga. They create new customer experiences and with more energy efficient, environmentally friendly vending machines.

“It’s great to see the move from a traditional vending machine to upgraded technology,” he said. ” And a lot of it is around the customer experience.”

The tech in the new machines they make also make life easier for machine operators. They can change prices online, and change the language on the screen to match the market.

“The evolution of the of the industry, it’s really accelerating lately,” Freund said. “You know, in my past life I spent a lot of time in industrial automation and you’re seeing many of those features starting to come out and embrace the customer experience, improving the customer experience from temperature sensing type of devices, electronic interfaces. We talked a little bit about payment systems. We talked about advertising. There are there are leaps and bounds that are being made with the capabilities around software, chips, hardware, all of that. It’s really an exciting time in the vending industry.”

Freund said the team at Seaga is always busy. What started as an operation producing maybe 300 machines a year has grown into thousands of units monthly.

Headquartered in the Stateline, Seaga has facilities across the globe. In Freeport Seaga has nearly 100 employees. One of them is Dennis Hammer. He’s Seaga’s Vice President of Engineering. Hammer said the company continues to design new machines for new markets like health care. A newer machine provides lockers to help medical professionals keep track of their scrubs. It’s unconventional vending technology like this Hammer said keeps the job exciting.

“I’ve been with the company for 25 years,” Hammer said. “As the industry evolves, I evolve with it and it’s just, you know, it’s fun to me. I really enjoy what I do. And technology, sometimes people want to not follow along with it, but, I really like to see what’s next and develop what we do here for the next generation of equipment.”

Freund said Seaga is in a position to grown even more.

“From a U.S. standpoint,” he said. “I believe fully that we’re poised for some great growth in the US, and especially from our presence on the global stage with what we have to offer here. We’re very excited about the future.”