Take-over of Prosphera confirms Protime's European ambitions

Aartselaar, Belgium – 13th of Mai 2008
Protime NV, specialised in solutions for time registration, absence management and employee planning, announces the take-over of its Dutch partner, Prosphera BV. Since 1998, Prosphera has been the exclusive distributor of Protime's solutions in the Netherlands. From now on, both companies will use the same name. This scaling-up confirms Protime's ambitions to be a European leader.

With 350 customers in the Netherlands, including Campina, Schuitema, Wehkamp, Marktplaats.nl, Ovako Wire, Nedstaal and ArcelorMittal, Prosphera has a top 3 position in its sector. But Protime is ambitious for more. “We see clear growth potential in the Netherlands,” says Peter s'Jongers, Managing Partner of Protime. “That is why we want to expand the number of employees in the Netherlands by at least one third. This will enable us to take on more projects and manage them better. Scaling-up in this way allows Protime to grow fast in the Dutch market. We want to make our Dutch branch as big as our Belgian branch in the near future.”

Flexibility (flexi-hour schedules, working part-time or from home) has become one of the top priorities for many employees and a powerful argument when recruiting talented people. The innovative products and know-how of Protime in the field of time registration and management are necessary tools to efficiently manage people within an organisation.

“Meeting the evolving time-management needs of talented employees is increasingly important for companies, and both time and talent are limited,” says Lucas Polman, Managing Partner of Prosphera. “Protime's mission is to help companies to optimise the work-life balance of their employees. Our user-friendly solutions enable companies to keep an overview of time management. The vision and strategy of Protime and Prosphera complement each other, which will benefit the companies as well as the customers.”

Apart from strengthening Protime's European position, the take-over of Prosphera resulted from a clear market trend. Peter s'Jongers explains: “Ten years ago, most of our profit came from the sale of software licences. Nowadays, our customers demand services, training and consultancy. It is important for Protime to be as close to the customer as possible. Strengthening our position in the Netherlands seamlessly fits into this context.”

The expansion within the Netherlands allows Protime to better serve its European customers. Many companies want to work with the same provider for solutions for all their European offices. A strong presence in the Benelux is thus part of the goal of better collaborating with European HR partners. In addition to a strong presence in Belgium and the Netherlands, Protime also has partners in France, Luxemburg, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

This expansion is a milestone in Protime's history, and is reflected by the company's new look. The website (www.protime.eu) has been restyled, making it easier for professionals to find the appropriate solution. To give the new style extra visual impact, Protime has also presented its new logo.

The Managing Partners of Protime (Peter s'Jongers and Luc Timmermans) and Prosphera (Lucas Polman and Darek Sikorski) make up the board of the new organisation.

About Protime

With 1250 customers in the Benelux and 4500 in Europe, Protime is a market leader in the field of time registration, absence management and employee planning. Every day, about one hundred employees do their utmost to develop new technologies and to assist customers with their skills. In addition to the know-how and experience that are expected from a market leader, Protime offers the flexibility and service-orientation of a local partner. Protime has offices in Belgium and the Netherlands. The solutions are also distributed by partners in France, Luxemburg, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.