Growing management specialist bucks the trend and buys software system

Wakefield-based maintenance management systems specialist SoftSols Group has acquired the Plan4 software system from Manchester-based Solutions PT for an undisclosed sum.

SoftSols employs 15 people at its office in Wrenthorpe, Wakefield, and last year achieved a turnover of more than 1m.

Plan4 is widely used in the manufacturing sector by organisations including bakery chain Greggs and Jiffy Packaging.

David Hipkin, SoftSols (EMEA) group managing director, said: "Despite the recession, we're managing to buck the trend and grow our business.

"We're already selling our facilities and manufacturing maintenance management systems to companies around the world including organisations in Poland, Australia and China.

"Our acquisition of Plan4 is an extremely exciting development for us, enabling us to offer an enhanced product range to all our customers, backed up by first-class levels of training, service and support.

"Many of SoftSols' customers have been with us since we began in 1983."

The Plan4 system enables maintenance and engineering teams to keep a record of all plant equipment, including monitoring maintenance schedules and generating work orders.

As part of the acquisition, Plan4 chief architect James Park will join the SoftSols team.