PTFS Europe welcomes ByWater Solutions as a new shareholder

PTFS Europe announces retirement of shareholders Nick Dimant and Ian Bays

Nick Dimant, one of the original founders of PTFS Europe, and Ian Bays are retiring as shareholders and Directors of PTFS Europe with immediate effect. Their outstanding shareholding has been purchased by ByWater Solutions.  Brendan Gallagher and Nathan Curulla, co-owners of ByWater Solutions, are also joining the board as Directors. This provides new growth opportunities for both organisations and assures a strong future for the companies.

PTFS Europe and ByWater Solutions have already enjoyed a long and fruitful working relationship in the Koha and Aspen open source communities. We see this as an opportunity to strengthen this relationship and provide many benefits for the libraries and software communities that we work with.

Jonathan Field, Managing Director (CEO) said:

Although it is sad for us to be losing Nick and Ian, we are delighted that they are able to step back and enjoy their retirement, and this is something that the board has been planning for several years. We want to continue to work with people who share our love and commitment to open source in libraries but also to the values we uphold as individuals. We are confident we have found this in Brendan and Nate.

Brendan Gallagher, CEO at ByWater Solutions, also commented:

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work more closely with the talented and dedicated team at PTFS Europe and see this partnership as a natural progression of the already closely aligned values and missions of our two companies. This is also a huge win for the software projects and library communities we support by providing more scalability and resilience.

Nick Dimant has decided to fully retire after a career spanning 43 years. He was previously a co-founder of Sirsi Limited in the UK in 1990, before founding PTFS Europe with Jonathan Field in 2007. Ian Bays is also retiring at this time after a career in library automation going back to the early 1990s.

Nick Dimant commented:

It has been a fantastic journey building PTFS Europe into the company it is today and Ian and I would like to thank everyone who made it possible. We could not have done it without the brilliant team we have working with us and our customers have been pretty wonderful too!  With Brendan and Nate I cannot think of better people to pass the mantle on to. They share our  beliefs and values as well as having a huge amount of expertise to offer. I have no doubt that the company will flourish over the years to come.

Following completion of this share transaction on 22 September 2023 ByWater Solutions and PTFS Europe remain separate private entities but are committed to continuing and growing their already close working relationship.

About PTFS Europe

PTFS Europe has a vision to make technology easy for libraries. We focus on enabling library users through high quality open source software solutions. Our way of working is characterised by listening, finding solutions, reliable delivery and above all open communication. Our highly skilled team has a friendly and approachable style in delivering our quality implementation and support services.

The reason so many people like working with us is that we solve problems, we don’t sell software. We listen, find solutions and commit to deliver these solutions for our customers as part of our complete managed service and support package. As an ISO27001 accredited company, our customers can rely on the quality and integrity of the support we provide.

PTFS Europe Board of Directors

Jonathan Field, Managing Director

Andrew Auld, Commercial Director

Brendan Gallagher, Director

Nathan Curulla, Director

More information on PTFS Europe: ptfs-europe.com

Please contact Andrew Auld, [email protected] for more information.

About ByWater Solutions

ByWater Solutions is a full service, high-quality Open Source support and implementation company dedicated to providing libraries with a lower cost, more advanced level of support for their systems than a traditional proprietary solution can offer. ByWater Solutions has a proven track record in the first-rate implementation and support services with library systems of all sizes for the Koha ILS, Aspen Discovery, Folio LSP, Coral ERM, and Libki PC Management.

Our highly ranked, comprehensive support is what sets our company apart from any other vendor in the industry. Partnering with ByWater Solutions not only lowers the cost of implementation and maintenance of OSS but more importantly empowers libraries by giving them the flexibility and freedom they deserve. For more information please visit bywatersolutions.com.