Innovation Program Success Story

CHIPCO International Testimonial
“Raymond Company in the Chips”

CHIPCO International’s officials recently decided to lay the company’s cards on the table and aggressively seek to expand its share of the international gaming industry by producing a better poker chip.

The company engaged Time Wise Management Systems (TWMS) and Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Maine MEP) to help them identify the resources needed to succeed. With the assistance of an H-1B High Skills Technical Training Grant funded by the US Department of Labor and administered by Coastal Counties Workforce Board, the project team performed a strategic business and technology assessment of the company. The assessment determined that CHIPCO held a strong competitive technology advantage capable of reversing the market share with its main competitor.

CHIPCO now makes a high-tech poker chip, embedded with radio frequency identification (RFID) inlay that makes them the most secure chip in the global market. By using the new chips at newly designed tables, casinos know immediately what amount each player at each table is betting, how much money has been won or lost by each player, and more importantly, the casino can easily determine which players are so-called “high rollers.”

Company officials are excited about the future and have committed $200,000 for employee training and recently hired 16 technicians to keep up with its expanding global opportunity.

“The High Skills Training program will support CHIPCO’s executive and engineering training efforts during the coming months,” said John Kendall, president of the company, “because we believe CHPCO can capture 80 percent of the world’s poker chip business within 24 months.”