Concept Engineering Expands its Presence in Ireland
Concept Engineering Limited, the Christchurch-based software development company and Jade partner today announced that
it has signed Cúil Dídin Nursing Home in Tralee, County Kerry, as its first Village Care System (VCare) client in
Ireland.
Concept Engineering created VCare in 2002 to provide a comprehensive and industry specific information technology
solution to manage retirement villages and aged care facilities. In New Zealand, VCare is used by three of the four
largest retirement village groups including Ryman Healthcare and Metlifecare. Currently, over 12,000 residents are cared
for under the VCare platform.
Chris Graham, Concept Engineering’s managing director said, “With the retirement village sector in Ireland about to take
off, this represents a great opportunity to substantially grow our offshore business.”
Cúil Dídin is an established aged care facility who are about to expand into the retirement village market. It is
Concept Engineering’s first VCare pilot site in Ireland with a number of other retirement village pilot sites under
development.
Mr Graham credits Concept Engineering success in Ireland to three factors. “We have had a presence in Ireland since 2002
providing our accountancy and manufacturing IT solutions, which meant we were known and had established relationships in
place. Secondly, we received valuable assistance from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) under their Market
Development grant scheme. Thirdly, the VCare system is built on the JADE platform. VCare offers a flexible and robust
system that can grow and evolve to meet the increasingly complex challenges of modern aged care organisations and the
requirements of the Retirement Villages Act.”
NZTE helped fund Concept Engineering’s market research and business development in Ireland including their presence at a
number of key Irish trade shows.
In addition to VCare, Concept Engineering’s Client Management System is used in the community health sector by
organisations such as the Nurse Maude Association who provide community care services through 1,000 care givers in the
community as well as Need Assessment Centres for the Canterbury, Hutt, and Capital District Health Boards.
VCare has expanded to manage care plans for residents, occupancy details, resident billing and funding, financial and
marketing information, and produces Disclosure Statements which are a requirement of the Retirement Villages Act.
Concept Engineering is a member of the Jade Software Corporation Partner programme which supports companies that choose
to use JADE for developing software for sale.
Jade’s Chief Information Officer John Ascroft said, “The VCare export push into Ireland is a great example of New
Zealand technology competing on a world stage. Concept Engineering has been able to use JADE to build a product that
delivers significant benefits for its users and is internationally competitive.”
Mr Graham says, “VCare represents a huge opportunity for us, given the aging population around the world, and the
increasing numbers of people choosing to live in retirement villages.”
ENDS
About Concept Engineering
Established in 1991, Concept Engineering Limited is a privately held company that specialises in the design,
construction, and implementation of a variety of software solutions to address specific business needs. Its areas of
particular expertise include software solutions for the accounting, manufacturing and the healthcare sectors. The
company’s business philosophy includes a strong focus on system integration and solution flexibility.