POS technology businesses merge - Royal Gazette

Scott Neil, Assistant Business Editor

Published Jan 21, 2019 at 8:00 am (Updated Jan 21, 2019 at 12:13 am)

Businesses merge: Anthony Bennett, left, and Stephanie Betelho of goPoint; Tim Smith, chairman of goPoint and AF Smith; John Tester president of DataTech; Allan Young, senior technical manager of DataTech; Ian Nash vice-president of AF Smith; and Marcus Kermode of DataTech (Photograph supplied)

DataTech Ltd and goPoint Ltd, which have been involved in point-of-sale technology and retail automation in Bermuda for many years, are merging to form a technology-focused transaction company.

The combining of the businesses is expected to create “a market leader with the scale to deliver more” to customers.

The new entity will carry the goPoint name, and have a staff of six. The merger has resulted in two posts becoming redundant, however, it is likely that new positions will be created in the future.

John Tester, president of DataTech, said: “The combined company will achieve greater economies of scale and provide retailers, restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations with more support, more choices and unmatched value when it comes to their point-of-sale systems.

“As part of a larger, stronger combined company, we are able to add capacity and introduce more products and expand our service offering so customers can have peace-of-mind when selecting us in the years to come.”

Mr Tester will lead the DataTech and goPoint teams. DataTech’s Allan Young will continue to serve as the senior technical manager for the combined company. He said: “This merger is a natural evolution for our two companies and we are excited about the prospects for growth.”

DataTech was founded by Mr Tester and Mr Young in 1995. It was the first company to design and install integrated credit/debit card systems in point-of-sale registers in Bermuda. Following the merger it will operate as a division of goPoint.

GoPoint provides NCR point-of-sale technology to restaurants, retail stores and financial institutions.

The merged company will be headquartered at AF Smith, on Tumkins Lane, off Woodlands Road, Pembroke. Renovations are under way to provide staff and customers with a showroom, lab, training facility and offices. DataTech currently operates from Bakery Lane in Pembroke. It is expected to complete its relocation to the premises at AF Smith by the end of the month.

GoPoint and AF Smith chairman Tim Smith will serve as chairman of the new company. He said: “When John and I first explored the possibility of combining, we quickly recognised that we could create a market leader with the scale to deliver more for our customers in the form of second-to-none point-of-sale expertise, experience and support.”

Regarding the two redundancies, Mr Tester said: “One post was held by a co-owner and we worked together for more than 20 years. We will miss her but know she intends to keep busy with family and friends. Going forward the merger will open up new market opportunities and will likely lead to growing the workforce in the long term.”

The new company will leverage the technical and marketing resources of AF Smith, which it said “will give goPoint and DataTech business customers, large and small, added confidence when selecting POS, back office and ATM technologies”.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

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