Cantec now has 52 employees and plans to employ 100 by 2025, with an eye on international expansion.
Irish technology provider Cantec plans to double its headcount by 2025 after acquiring accounts payable automation start-up InShip.
Founded in 1994 in Waterford, Cantec provides hardware and software to businesses in the areas of business process automation, graphic design, digital marketing and printing. It now has offices in Waterford, Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Mullingar.
Dublin-based InShip was founded in 2016 by Adrian Kelehan to develop plug-in services to automate accounting for businesses. Its automation technology integrates with software such as Sage, Xero and QuickBooks.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed but Cantec said it would help with its continued expansion in Ireland. The company has grown its headcount from 39 to 52 in the last 18 months alone and plans to almost double that figure to 100 staff by 2025.
Cantec is also eyeing international expansion in the US and Australia next year.
Expansion and appointments
Greg Tuohy, CEO of Cantec, said Kelehan has been appointed to Cantec’s board of directors as part of the acquisition. “We are delighted to announce our amalgamation with InShip, further strengthening and expanding upon the innovative software solutions we offer our customers,” he added.
“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.”
InShip currently has 10 employees, including eight software developers, who will join Cantec’s team to work on its Docutec, SmartOffice and Promotive businesses.
“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,” said Paul Martin, Cantec CCO.
“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 roll-out of six products from the SmartOffice ecosystem in 2022.”
Éadaoin Carrick, co-owner and operations director at Cantec, has also been appointed as executive chair to lead the group’s next phase of growth. She is Cantec’s first woman chair.
An employee at Cantec for 21 years, Carrick said she was excited 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,” she said.
Cantec founding director Dara Madden also takes over as chief revenue officer, while Paula O’Gorman will be the group’s new chief marketing officer.
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