Promethean Opens Southern European Headquarters in Paris

• Promethean, a global leader in interactive technology in education, opens new flagship office in Paris 
• The office is to support the growing demand for interactive technology in the European region

Paris, France, 13th Nov 2008 - Today Promethean, a global leader in interactive classroom solutions, announced the opening of their flagship Southern Europe headquarters in Paris, further highlighting their strong position in the French market.

Currently experiencing phenomenal growth throughout the region, the recent demand for interactive technologies in classrooms throughout Southern Europe has led to significant success for Promethean. With over 7 years experience in the French education system, Promethean has grown from strength to strength, and is now considered the number one interactive technology solutions provider to classrooms throughout France*.

Major wins in both Portugal and Italy are further testament to the company’s significant success in Southern Europe; which will see increased investment from Promethean in the coming months.

Paul Berry, Head of European Sales & Marketing for Promethean, explains, “The elevation of our French office to Southern Europe headquarters reinforces both our long-standing relationship with educators in France and our determination to impact and improve education throughout the area. We will be making heavy investment in this region during 2009 and aim to double our work force over the coming months to meet demand.

‘The University of Barcelona conducted research between 2006-08, in to the use of Promethean interactive whiteboards in Barcelona. 347 teachers took part in the study from 60 education establishments in Barcelona. The results show that nearly 80% of teachers believed that Promethean interactive whiteboards facilitated a more effective learning environment. 88% felt the technology raised their students understanding and achievement. As well as increased class participation, a staggering 96% of teachers reported improved levels of concentration and motivation.With the benefits of Promethean’s Activclassroom becoming realised throughout Europe, we are keen to support teachers and help them share best practice to ensure that interactive lessons are engaging and enhance the learning environment."

The Paris office, will act as the headquarters for Promethean’s operations in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Malta; raising the total number of offices worldwide to eight.

Emmanuel Pasquier, Vice president Southern Europe and MD for France, elaborates, “This new base will support our European network, complementing Promethean’s strategic global approach by localizing trading efforts, facilitating greater support for our channel partners as well as our many customers within the region.
As much as an office, we’re also opening a real training center in capacity to welcome 40 teachers per day in order to help them to be much more creative with Promethean’s solution.

Our success in the market is due to the company’s understanding and exclusive dedication to the education market. With nearly half of our customer-facing staff having first-hand experience in the teaching sector, we have developed additional support solutions for educators; www.prometheanplanet.com, the world’s fastest-growing online interactive whiteboard community offering free resources and downloads and www.prometheanlearning.com an online training portal that offers continuing professional development.”

The company has grown year on year with revenue of over £100m, establishing sales in over 90 countries and influencing the education of more than 10 million children worldwide.

*Futuresource consulting figures Q3 2008

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About Promethean

Promethean is a global leader in interactive classroom solutions that empowers teachers to engage, educate, assess and motivate learners.  Developed by and for educators, its award-winning products help teachers to prepare digital lessons quickly and with greater ease. The technology enables them to create, customize and integrate text, web, video and audio content, so they can more easily capture students’ attention and accommodate different learning styles.
 
Promethean Activclassroom solutions are helping educators teach and students learn worldwide with Activboard, the world’s most durable interactive whiteboard technology; Activstudio, a software platform for secondary teaching; and Activprimary, the only product designed specifically for use in primary schools and kindergarten. It also offers wireless hand-held Learner Response Systems that permit instantaneous assessment of pupils’ comprehension of lessons. Beyond the classroom, Promethean offers training and support to ensure maximum results and return on investment.

Promethean is headquartered in the United Kingdom. Its products are distributed through a network of partners and inspire millions of learners, reaching over 10 million children in more than 90 countries. The company has been awarded four World Didac awards, two BETT awards, the T&L award from the US, Queens Award for Innovation 2003, Queens Charter for Export and The UK Sunday Times Tech Track Innovation Award.

 
For more information, please visit www.prometheanworld.com