Genco Manufacturing Co.

Genco Manufacturing Co. was founded in 1931 in Chicago, Illinois, by brothers Louis, Meyer, and David Gensburg. From its earliest days, the company specialized in coin-operated amusement devices, eventually producing around 238 different titles between 1931 and 1959. Early Genco machines were flipperless and showcased the innovative spirit of the pre-war pinball industry, placing Genco among the pioneering manufacturers that shaped the sport’s transition from simple bagatelle-like amusements to the more complex electromechanical games that would dominate arcades and taverns in the decades to come.

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One of Genco’s earliest pinball releases was Buster Ball (1931), designed by Harvey Heiss. After World War II, the company embraced new features like electrified flippers, most notably on Triple Action (1948), believed to be one of the first games to use a modern two-flipper arrangement at the bottom of the playfield. This layout, credited in part to designer Steve Kordek, helped standardize the way pinball machines would function for the next several decades. Genco’s attention to mechanical detail and cost-effective design solutions contributed to its solid reputation, even as larger firms such as Gottlieb and Bally began to dominate the market.

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By the late 1950s, Genco had diversified into arcade novelty games but gradually slowed its pinball production. In 1959, the company merged with rival Chicago Coin, effectively ending the Genco brand. Though short-lived compared to some of its peers, Genco’s portfolio of innovative titles—particularly those introducing player-friendly design concepts—remains a noteworthy chapter in pinball history, and its legacy endures as an example of early industry craftsmanship and ingenuity.