Storage and archiving specialist Proact is making inroads into the Baltic States and recently commenced operations in Estonia. Five members of staff have been recruited, and already the new office has been awarded a number of contracts. This initiative is all part of Proact’s expansion in Northern Europe, and the objective is to make Proact into the biggest independent storage and archiving specialist in Northern Europe.

Proact has had subsidiaries in both Latvia and Lithuania for a while now, and the company has had its sights set on Estonia for a long time to enable the company to cover the Baltic States in their entirety, despite the economic crisis in the region. Now all the pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place and business is proceeding at a tremendous pace.

“We have a strong business model which has proven to be very successful on our other markets, a model which can also be implemented quickly. And besides, our specialist niche in the field of storage and archiving is not as susceptible to market conditions as many other fields. When we managed to recruit staff with the right skills in Estonia a few months ago, we were able to implement establishment of the new office within a short time,” says Olof Sand, CEO and President of Proact.

Up to and including the third quarter of 2008, Proact experienced growth of no less than 16 per cent for the group overall, and the offices in the Baltic States have also seen strong growth this year. The objective for Estonia is to employ at least ten staff within a year.

“The Estonian market is relatively small, but a lot of international and Nordic companies have a presence there, including several of our existing clients. A presence in the country will place us in a better position to support them,” says Olof Sand.

About a year ago, Proact decided to increase its rate of expansion in Northern Europe so that the company could grow more quickly. An office was opened in the Netherlands back in January. The objective is to establish a presence in most countries in Northern Europe – including Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Poland – within five years.