Prolival chooses Villeneuve d'Ascq for its first regional site

For three decades, Prolival has stood out in the digital sector thanks to a diversified range of services, encompassing the design, operation, hosting and security of IT infrastructures for numerous companies.

This portfolio of offerings has enabled the company to post sales of more than €32 million in 2022, marking growth of 14% and doubling in size in ten years.

In addition to its economic performance, Prolival is firmly committed to a sustainable approach. This commitment is reflected in its Ecovadis certification, which testifies to its ongoing commitment to its customers and employees.

Based in Colombes (92) with a workforce of 340 employees, 90% of whom have permanent contracts, the company was previously organised between its main service centre and its customers’ sites.

Prolival is distinguished by a corporate culture aimed at nurturing talent. This strategic orientation prioritises the identification, acquisition and promotion of young graduates, guiding them towards roles of high responsibility.

While the Paris region, the historic birthplace of the company, offers a substantial reservoir of opportunities, it also poses major challenges, particularly in terms of quality of life for its employees. They are hard hit by high property costs and long commuting times. “Our employees are happy to be at Prolival, but some find it difficult to continue working for us, and that’s understandable! When you’re commuting up to 3 hours each way a day, it can be difficult to keep up the pace, even with a few days of teleworking. The challenge was therefore to “make our graduate employment model sustainable by providing a practical response to the difficulties associated with working in the Paris region”, says Pascal Combe, Associate Director of Prolival.

Added to this is the fierce competition for IT profiles in the Paris region and the quest to optimise costs, particularly property costs, which are very high in the Ile-de-France region.

This combination of factors is a powerful incentive for Prolival to explore new horizons, in a resolutely forward-looking approach.

At the end of 2022, Prolival set up a working group made up of representatives from all areas of the company to study together the best option for this new location. This collective reflection is based on various key criteria such as :

• Geographical proximity to Paris to facilitate inter-team exchanges.
• The presence of high-quality higher education establishments, training highly qualified profiles.
• Regional business development opportunities.
• Support in setting up by local structures

Several possible locations were examined, including Rouen, Orléans, Reims and Lille. The capital of Flanders quickly stood out for its proximity to Paris and the quality of its higher education.

In addition, analysis of the local market revealed an attractive business development opportunity, with the presence of a number of ETIs and regional family groups ready to work with local service providers.

Finally, the Lille metropolitan area, with rents that are considerably more affordable than in the Paris region, appears to be an appropriate response to the problem of balancing the lives of young graduates.

After narrowing down its selection to Lille and Rouen, Prolival finally opted for Lille, thanks to the decisive support of the Hello Lille and Nord France Invest agencies. The warm welcome and strong interest in setting up in the Lille ecosystem were decisive factors for the company.

The Hello Lille and Nord France Invest teams established fruitful collaborations with local employment agencies such as Pôle Emploi, APEC and local missions.

At the same time, the Invest team helped Prolival to select suitable premises and put together grant applications. This support enabled Prolival to open its new centre on 24 July 2023, thus meeting its ambitious timetable.