Protime is already the reference company for time registration in Belgium and the Netherlands, but it now wants to fulfil this role in every country in which its parent company, leading European HR service provider SD Worx, is active. To accelerate this international expansion, Protime has acquired all the shares of its Spanish competitor SoftMachine.
Protime acquires Spanish competitor SoftMachine
5 minuten
‘We want to become the European market leader in workforce management solutions’
The word is out, Protime is set to acquire its Spanish industry peer SoftMachine. SoftMachine is a specialist in its home country and supports around 450 national and international customers, mainly medium-sized companies. The acquisition is part of Protime's ambition to become the European market leader in workforce management solutions. The Mechelen software company is currently active in the countries bordering Belgium plus the United Kingdom, Germany, Scandinavia and now also Spain.
‘At Protime, we’re growing fast thanks to our targeted response to the shift to a more flexible labour market and the internationalisation of our customers. By expanding with strong local partners such as SoftMachine in Spain, we’re strengthening our capability to become the best provider of workforce management solutions in Europe.’
An important player on the Spanish market with extensive knowledge in People Management
SoftMachine was founded in Barcelona in 1989. The company specialises in the development and implementation of time registration and access control systems. Growing continuously over the years, the company has built up broad international expertise and sector knowledge in People Management solutions. Its main goal: to grow together with its customers so that its investments increase in value.
SoftMachine has approximately 40 employees at its headquarters in Barcelona and its office in Madrid. Last year, SoftMachine had a turnover of 3.6 million euros.
'At Protime, we’re growing fast thanks to our targeted response to the shift to a more flexible labour market and the internationalisation of our customers. By expanding with strong local partners such as SoftMachine in Spain, we’re strengthening our capability to become the best provider of workforce management solutions in Europe,’ says Gille Sebrechts, CEO of Protime. ‘Corporate culture is very important for Protime and SoftMachine is the perfect cultural fit for us.'
'From the very start, we could see that our cultural values are an excellent match. Added to that, we’re very happy that we’ll now be part of a strong European company. We want to combine our knowledge, expertise and network to offer our customers the best time registration tools and services. And it also means that we can continue to invest in the personal growth and well-being of our employees,’ says Marc Noëlle, co-founder of SoftMachine.
'Since SoftMachine was founded in 1989, we’ve successfully developed time management solutions thanks to the valuable support of our team and our customers. At the same time, we’ve added value to these organisations and to society as a whole. By joining Protime, we’ll continue to grow together with our customers and achieve new goals,' says Oscar Bermejo, co-founder of SoftMachine.
The current management team will remain in place at SoftMachine. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
For this transaction, SD Worx was advised by DLA Piper Spain and EY. SoftMachine was advised by ILV SILVER.
Towards 10,000 customers in five years
Protime has big ambitions. It wants to double its customer base to more than 10,000 customers in Europe in five years. It aims to achieve this by becoming active in more countries but also by continuing to grow in the Belgian home market. As part of this, Protime will be looking for at least 100 additional employees in the coming year, the majority of whom will be based in Mechelen. For example, Protime is looking for technical personnel, developers, consultants, customer service employees and project managers to support its growth.
‘Over the past few years, we started working more and more flexibly, but that also leads to a number of challenges. Time tracking can help employees maintain a healthy work-life balance. Just as a heart rate monitor alerts us to the fact that we’re exercising too intensively, online registration tools can set off alarm bells for employees – for example when they’re systematically logging overtime,’ says Gille Sebrechts.
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