ANGEL strives for excellence in its playing cards—come hell or high water
On 11th March 2011 a huge earthquake hit northeastern area Japan. The news shocked the world.
ANGEL Playing Cards Co—the biggest single supplier of playing cards to the global casino industry—received inquiries and encouragement from many customers following the event, says Yasushi Shigeta, President and Chief Executive Officer.
“Fortunately, ANGEL’s office and factory facilities are far away from the disaster area, and we were unaffected by it. Our staff and their families were also unaffected,” states Mr Shigeta.
But the experience was a reminder of the importance of making routine provisions against such a big earthquake and tsunami.
“We have a strict policy of risk management,” explains Mr Shigeta.
“In addition, after the earthquake, we launched a task force and prepared a contingency plan. To date, no problems have occurred in either production or material purchasing,” he adds.
“We would like to express our many thanks to everyone for the outpouring of concern and encouragement regarding the disaster. ANGEL will continue to strive to meet our customers’ expectations.”
Beginnings
ANGEL as a company is 60 years old. For 50 of those years, it has been making card related products. ANGEL has been producing not only playing cards for the general consumer but also character cards licensed from license holders. ANGEL also produces trading cards, cards illustrating sports stars such as soccer players, plus magicians’ cards and tarot cards. These products are sold in Japan or exported overseas—mainly to Asian countries.
A product range specifically for the Japanese domestic market is Ukiyoe playing cards showing traditional Japanese arts. The company’s non-casino product range is so wide that there is something to appeal to every generation. And ANGEL’s products have become so famous that its brand is widely recognised by general consumers in overseas.
Casino playing cards are a relatively new addition to ANGEL’s product range, but have quickly built an excellent reputation.
“We believe that quality, service and security are foundations of our business,” adds Mr Shigeta.
He summarises the ANGEL philosophy as follows:
- Quality—ANGEL strives for zero defects in manufactured cards.
- Service—ANGEL sales staff visit customers on a regular basis, to listen to customers’ needs, wants and concerns and offer support and advice—“Not just to sell things to them,” says Mr Shigeta.
- Security—ANGEL strives each day to improve security through improvements to its facilities, equipment, systems and training of employees.
“We have been working hard to develop these three aspects of our operation, and we believe this is the best and only way to achieve the trust of customers all over the world,” states Mr Shigeta. “We promise our customers that we will make consistent efforts to maintain that trust through enhanced quality, service and security.”
Development
ANGEL says its casino playing cards are manufactured adapting to the customer’s preference, such as choice of materials, processing method and forms of products, and supplied to the market. The company supplies the following products for the casino industry:
- Blackjack—ANGEL develops and sells shuffle machine-friendly plastic playing cards with optimal durability for use in casino blackjack games;
- Poker—ANGEL makes specialised POKER CARDS made from soft-textured and highest-quality acetate. It also offers POKER CARDS made from PVC and suitable for shuffle machines.
- Baccarat—ANGEL offers eight-deck shuffled paper playing cards especially for baccarat. The cards are superior in terms of randomness and security, and have gained an unparalleled reputation in the market.
- In addition, ANGEL has produced a secure card shoe called ANGEL EYE that is extremely common in baccarat with eight-deck shuffled paper playing cards.
“Today, ANGEL has 80% share of the Asian and Australian casino market and has risen to become the biggest supplier of playing cards for casinos in the world,” says Mr Shigeta. “We are making effort to convince people that ANGEL provides the best quality casino playing cards and corresponds quickly to customer’s request, and we will continue to strive to meet our customer’s expectations”.
