By ROB O'NEILL
Auckland petrol retail systems innovator Task Technology has been bought out and merged with German point-of-sale systems supplier Dostask.
The two companies shared a common major shareholder in billionaire Singaporean Brian Chang, who held 60 per cent of both. Three minority New Zealand investors have now sold their interests
in the company.
Task Technologies is the developer of the KT POS point-of-sale system, which includes the KT Keyboard installed in Caltex, Challenge, BP, Mobil and other petrol retail chains.
Locally developed and manufactured, KT POS claims 50 per cent of the local market for such systems, with around 600 sites. It is also sold in Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia as well as in Germany and Switzerland.
"The idea of the merger is we will become the research and development entity for the global operation," said Task's international marketing manager, Pat McCammon. "We will continue to develop applications and focus on the intellectual property."
The group is now one of the world's largest retail oil automation companies, combining Dostask's forecourt hardware and software systems with Task's point-of-sale systems, said Mr McCammon.
The Dostask deal will open new opportunities for international sales of KT POS, Mr McCammon said. Dostask sold 5000 units into Germany and Switzerland before the acquisition.
The combined company will now launch an aggressive European sales campaign using New Zealand experts to target the British market.
Dostask has around 150 of its unattended forecourt fuelling systems in use in BP and Caltex stations in New Zealand. A Windows-based system is expected to be launched here by the end of the year.
"The new ownership means we can amortise the development costs of our products, so we expect to make it even tougher for our local competitors," said Mr McCammon.
Locally, that competition is Advantage Group's PEC. "PEC would have been bigger than us but we are now twice their size overnight and focusing on high- density markets through large corporate relationships," Mr McCammon said.
The combined company now has more than 100 employees, including 40 in New Zealand.
Major opportunities include expansion into Mobil outlets worldwide following that company's acquisition by Esso, a Dostask customer. Mobil already uses the systems in Southeast Asia.
Last year, Task concluded supply agreements with Texas retail fuel equipment provider Wayne International and Singaporean company Omron Systems Singapore.
