July 28, 2006

Zultys Technologies Ceases Operations but Founder Disputes Claim

By Robert Liu, TMCnet Executive Editor

Zultys Technologies, a manufacturer of IP communications equipment based in the Silicon Valley , has ceased operations as of Wednesday, July 26, according to company officials.

Iain Milnes, the founder of the company, told TMCnet they are ceasing operations and terminating employees – at least temporarily until they get additional financing. The news was first reported on Greg Galitzine’s VoIP Authority Blog.

However, in an e-mail interview with TMCnet, Milnes emphasized that Zultys has NOT shut down entirely and will continue to sell and support its products globally.

“The company has not shut down, we continue to sell and support products globally, and each of our offices around the world is staffed,” Milnes said.

“We have had a reduction in personnel globally. We have been seeking capital to expand the business and that has not yet materialized. There are offers on the table and we hope soon to announce the complete rehiring of all personnel.

“While some of our competitors would like to spread the rumor, news of our death is premature!” he said alluding to Mark Twain’s famous quote.

The work stoppage comes as a surprise especially given the fact that Zultys, as recently as July 10, released four new VoIP phones to complement its existing range of nine wired phones and two wireless phones. In addition, the company entered into a partnership agreement with BandTel earlier this month.

According to the company’s Web site, Zultys was founded by Milnes in October 2001. At its height, the company employed over 200 people worldwide and had branch offices in ten countries.

Group Editor-in-Chief Rich Tehrani contributed to this article.

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Robert Liu is Executive Editor at TMCnet. Previously, he was Executive Editor at Jupitermedia and has also written for CNN, A&E, Dow Jones and Bloomberg. For more articles, please visit Robert Liu's columnist page.

(source: http://news.tmcnet.com/news/it/-zultys-ceases-operations-/2006/07/28/1750955.htm)