'An eye injury led to me making pinball machines'

A man who makes electronic pinball machines said his business began after an eye injury meant he could no longer work as an electrician.

Andy Dowler, from Stoke-on-Trent, was in his 40s when he was blinded in one eye after the spring-loaded handle of a heat press machine sprang into his face as he unpacked it.

"From that point, my life changed," he said, after returning to work and finding the effect on his sight in low-light conditions made it difficult to safely do the job he had done since he was a teenager.

"The thing I loved the most, and the thing I enjoyed as a child, was arcade machines...so I decided I was going to try and make an arcade machine," said the 56-year-old.

He worked on 15 cases before he got a design he was happy with and, once he got it working right, he put the first machine on sale on eBay, not expecting much.

"It took six hours to sell, but I did put it on really cheap," he explained, adding the idea of the first one was to get feedback.

The unexpected positive response gave him the confidence to carry on and eventually a friend asked if he could make a smaller pinball machine.

Dowler told him he was not sure he could but added that his friend was very happy with the result, which boosted his confidence and it got to the stage where he "couldn't make them fast enough".

His pinball machines mimic traditional mechanical ones and sell to private buyers, largely in the UK.

"The general age is about 30 plus," said Dowler of his customers, adding they "sort of bring them back to their younger days I suppose".

A large machine can take up to a month to build: "It's got everything on it, it bangs, it moves, it blows, it vibrates."

The handmade units cost between £1,500 and £8,000 when sold, with his son and 84-year-old father involved in their creation at the family's workshop in Tunstall.

Dowler said losing his eye was "almost a blessing" because, as an electrician, he was always working away from home on industrial sites and missed time with his family.

The injury changed everything and meant he had to rethink the way he lived.

"Being an electrician, you don't get two chances, if you touch something you shouldn't, you could kill yourself," he said.

"I absolutely love what I do...it brings enjoyment to people, I'm not just putting a light in or fixing a socket."

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