Genco

Genco Manufacturing Company was one of the major Chicago pinball manufacturers of the pre-war and postwar eras, producing over two hundred games between 1931 and 1958. Founded by David Gottlieb’s former associate Meyer Gensburg, Genco operated from Chicago’s West Side and was, for much of its history, among the top handful of American pinball producers by volume.

Genco’s early output capitalized on the bagatelle craze of the early 1930s with Pure Mechanical countertop games like Buster Ball (1931), then evolved rapidly through the decade as the industry adopted electric scoring, bumpers, and flippers. By the late 1940s and 1950s, Genco was producing full-sized Electromechanical machines and competing directly with Gottlieb, Williams, and Bally for operator placements. Designer Steve Kordek — who would later become one of the most important figures in pinball history — cut his teeth at Genco before moving to Bally, where he pioneered the Multiball concept and other foundational innovations.

Genco ceased pinball production in 1958, a casualty of the industry consolidation that winnowed Chicago’s once-crowded field of amusement manufacturers down to a few dominant players. The company’s extensive catalog documents the full transition from Depression-era novelty tables to the sophisticated electromechanical machines that would define the postwar arcade.