History and origin of apintra

HGS Software was founded by Gerhard Hartkemeier in the early 1980s. At that time, a comprehensive solution for manufacturing companies, based on a relational database, was developed. Parts and production lists and assuring the required flexibility in production stood at the forefront of this development. The decision to use what is now IBM’s Informix product (at that time still sold under the name RDS) as the database was made very early on. Relational databases enable high processing speeds, especially with large amounts of data.

Other products such as finance and accounting were developed very quickly. In addition to cost-centre, cost-unit and cost-type calculations using operating statement sheets, a unit-cost and contribution-margin calculation (following the work of Riebel) was also developed in cooperation with a large, globally active concrete formwork manufacturer and a lecturer from the University of Strasbourg.

This allowed two cost calculations to be run in parallel and independently of one another. The premise of the solutions was always maximum transparency with maximum flexibility.

With further orders, the scope of the software grew. In cooperation with professors at the University of Bielefeld, discount management was optimised as part of the merchandise management system, and more than 70 different types of discounts could be used in addition or in sequence as standard. Of course, a company only uses a handful of discount types. But with a selection of more than 70 such discounts, our clients can find the right form for their companies without having to adjust the software.

To enable better growth, the legal branch of the former Neutra GmbH (headed by Herbert Franosch) and the ERP software branch of HGS Software (headed Gerhard Hartkemeier) merged to form Syncline GmbH. In addition to the all-encompassing ERP software, the portfolio of SyncLine GmbH now also includes a comprehensive solution for lawyers and notaries. The legal software was used by one of the largest law firms seated in Frankfurt. The entire product line of a US manufacturer with over 70,000 installations (Laticorp Inc.) was also taken over and incorporated into our product range.

The ERP software expanded into production areas to include functions such as plant data acquisition and time and attendance recording. As part of a larger project with Gildemeister Projekta, we also integrated a graphical control station with real-time processing. At that time, sales were almost exclusively through authorised resellers and partners with more than 1,000 installations across Europe.

Once Informix Inc. ceased further adaption its own development platform, no significant further changes or conversions were carried out. New development of these solutions was excluded for cost reasons. The company group once more dissolved, and core competencies explicitly continued as part of the business activities of the respective partner.

The HGS division continued to look after old customers and from then on concentrated on Internet technologies. With the rapid growth of eBay at the end of the 1990s, we developed an eCommerce solution from existing modules. For example, two of the world’s five largest eBay PowerSellers were equipped with this solution. A company in the field of electronic components used our solution to complete more than 1,000 orders a day with fewer than eight employees.

Over the years, we have repeatedly been asked about the continuing development of our ‘old’ ERP software. Informix, in the meanwhile, had been taken over by IBM, and development tool technology had advanced. We therefore planned a new edition of our software based on possible technologies that by now are very well established.

Under the leadership of BEAR Investment Inc and a group of developers a US stock corporation was founded: apintra Inc. With a time investment of more than seven years, the software has been modernised and brought up to the latest state of the art. In the process, our new technology should position us once more at the top of a very competitive field. In the meantime, all apintra companies have merged within a holding company, apintra plc, based in London.