Long-standing office and IT services business acquired by Indigenous-owned investment company
- Eric Standing | October 31, 2022
Prince Albert Photocopier will now be able to provide everything from IT management to air cleaners to people who want to support Indigenous business in central and northern Saskatchewan.
Optek Solutions LP (Optek), an IT Services company owned by Athabasca Basin Development (ABD), Peter Ballantyne Group of Companies (PBGC), Kitsaki Management and Aebig Investments have acquired the Prince Albert Photocopier Ltd (PAP).
PAP has provided office needs in central and northern Saskatchewan for more than three decades. Throughout its years of operation, it has evolved from just mechanical paper copying to managing IT services and web design.
“A lot of their offering is very much in synergy with how we do business,” said CEO of Optek, Kevin Aebig. “It seemed like a really good fit from the onset.”
PAP’s long-standing reputation as a dependable office service and supply leader is what drew his attention to the company.
Aebig said Optek has been working with the owners of PAP to come up with an exit strategy that would work for everyone including PAP’s existing team of 16 staff members.
“They have done a lot to build their business up over the years and are now looking to enjoy their retirement,” said Aebig.
According to its website, PAP has always had a service-oriented goal and has evolved from originally providing mechanical copier services to current-day where its system engineers provide digital, mobile, remote, and cloud-based solutions.
The transition of ownership has been relatively smooth for Optek and its investors.
“As a group, we are very excited to work together to acquire PAP and build on the excellent foundation established nearly 30 years ago by Dan Fenton and Carolyn Fenton,” said Geoff Gay, CEO of Athabasca Basin Development and a representative of the ownership group. “As investors, when we looked at PAP, we all saw a successful, established business and we look forward to supporting the company as it continues to provide excellent service to its customers.”
Although Aebig has experience in the services that PAP provides, he is looking forward to the work that needs to be done for a successful transition.
“There’s a lot to learn about this particular business. There are a lot of differences between Optek and PAP by virtue of geographic location and service options. Once we figure out all those little nuances we are going to see what the best approach is.”
According to a news release, Dan Fenton will stay on during the company’s transition. He is happy to be working with not one but three very successful Indigenous-owned investment groups.
The fact that this group of businesses already owns over 35 businesses, including an IT Services company provided the Fentons with some reassurance the company they started will continue to thrive.
“Carolyn and I felt this was the right group to take good care of the company and help take it to the next level,” said Dan.
The CEO of ABD is equally excited about the future.
“We look forward to supporting the company as it continues to provide excellent service to its customers,” said Gay.