Irish technology provider Cantec Group has announced its acquisition of Accounts Payable Automation Solutions company InShip. The amalgamation is part of the Cantec Group’s continued expansion as a leading provider of integrated hardware and software solutions for businesses.
The acquisition brings together two highly innovative accounts payable solution providers and secures Cantec’s place as one of the leading technology and solutions providers in Ireland with offices in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Mullingar. InShip will benefit from the support structures that the Cantec Group has built over the last three decades according to Greg Tuohy, Chief Executive Officer of Cantec Group.
Founded in 2016 by Adrian Kelehan, InShip specializes in the development of plug-in solutions for accounting and enterprise resource planning for White Label partners and end users. Their plug-in solutions are designed to automate a number of manual tasks in the accounts payable process and can integrate with over 40 industry-leading software packages, including Sage, Xero and QuickBooks. Their solutions enable businesses to save up to 90% of their accounts payable related costs. InShip is based in Dublin and currently employs a team of ten people.
Speaking at the announcement of the acquisition, Mr Tuohy said, “We are delighted to announce our amalgamation with InShip, further strengthening and expanding upon the innovative software solutions we offer our customers. InShip’s ability to tailor the solution to match the precise requirements of each customer’s needs is a very exciting opportunity and we are very much looking forward to working with Adrian Kelehan who has been appointed to the Board of Directors at Cantec Group as part of this acquisition.”
Adrian Kelehan, founder of InShip, spoke enthusiastically about the acquisition, “I am excited to be part of bringing together these two great companies. Together, we will be stronger and will achieve outstanding results.”
Over the past 18 months, Cantec Group has increased its team of 39 staff to 52, with a target of 100 employees by 2025. International expansion into the US and Australia is also planned for 2022.
Commenting on the Cantec Group’s expansion plans, Mr Tuohy added, “This acquisition will help us achieve our plan of international expansion in 2022. The InShip team of eight experienced developers, and additional sales and financial experts will augment the existing team within the three Cantec Group companies of Docutec, SmartOffice Automation and Promotive.”
Paul Martin, Cantec Group Chief Commercial Officer, stated, “We are looking forward to building on the vision of Adrian Kelehan to provide best in class business automation solutions. Adrian brings a huge amount of knowledge and experience to the team and as a result of his accounting background, he understands first-hand the specific pain points experienced during the accounts payable process. This wealth of experience combined with founding and growing a start-up tech company will be enormously beneficial to the existing Directors at the Cantec Group. Our plans of expansion include the rollout of six products from the SmartOffice ecosystem in 2022.”
In line with the amalgamation, Cantec Group announced the appointment of Éadaoin Carrick as Executive Chair to lead the company as they embark on this next stage of growth. Female representation on the board is now at 33%, and Éadaoin, as Executive Chairperson is the first female Director to run the company. Greg Tuohy praised Éadaoin’s evolution from a part-time administration employee to taking the lead for the company and wished her continued success.
Speaking at the announcement, Ms Carrick spoke warmly of her colleagues. “I am thoroughly honoured to be given this role and the responsibilities that come with it. I have been working with Cantec for 21 years and I am extremely proud to be part of the company’s expansion. I’ve done my best to be honest and fair and to treat all my colleagues with respect. I intend to continue working hard to ensure that every member of staff feels welcome, valued and is happy to come to work as we expand our team while not forgetting the ethos that binds us together.”
Further appointments see Dara Madden, a founding Director of Cantec Group announced as Chief Revenue Officer and Paula O’Gorman appointed as Chief Marketing Officer at Cantec Group.
For further details on Cantec Group visit www.cantecgroup.ie.