Tag Archive for gavin wheeldon

GavinWheeldon | September 9, 2009
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Exports rose by 5% in July

For a long time now we have been banging on about the fact that if Britain wants to get out of this recession and repair the big hole in the public finances, then we need to export more as a country.

The ironic thing is that for some time we’ve also had an amazingly favourable climate in which to increase exports.With the weakened pound and international businesses looking to reduce costs, UK PLC should have been at the forefront of export.

We weren’t – and that was acutely highlighted with the first quarter export figures showing a massive drop across most regions in the UK.

So, today I was ecstatic to see that finally UK PLC has peered over the borders and done some selling overseas! Exports showed a rise of 5% over June – cause for celebration? Possibly and I do sincerely hope so!

We still have a massive trade deficit and until the UK closes that gap we simply won’t fill that hole in the finances and, of course, there is still a long way to go.  According to the National Institute for Economic and Social Research we should be officially out of the recession this quarter – could this also be to do with an increase in exports??

We’ve seen an increase in take up in our Export Box offering so I would like to think, as a UK based language services povider, we have had a hand in this recession recovery (however small), and will continue to help businesses big and small to get their products and services exported.

Category: Languages, Translation | Tags: , , , , , ,
GavinWheeldon | August 16, 2009
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UK Missing the Export Boat

GDP figures for Japan, France and Germany were released this week and they showed over 0.3% growth, great news in that it shows that the global economy is definitely on the mend. One of the main driving factors of this unexpected recovery is export, which is also great for the Euro Zone and something I believe to be the best possible way for any country to make it out of this recession.

So why is it then, that some countries are taking the export boat and paddling like crazy and others, like the UK, are well behind, watching the boat sail away with other people on it?!

Below are the first quarter export figures by region for the UK:

North West+3.2%
Yorkshire & Humberside-14.8%
Midlands-14.1%
East-9.5%
London-17.2%
South East-15.6%
South West-3.1%

It doesn’t make particularly good reading, and it certainly doesn’t bode well for trying to close the trade deficit that the UK has. So, back to the question of why some countries are on that boat and others aren’t.

The EU commissioned a report to look at the barriers to trade in the EU. They identified four main barriers and they were Language, Customer Acquisition, Cross Border Payments and Logistics. Now, the one thing that Japan, France and Germany have over English speaking countries is, they aren’t afraid of language – so is that where the UK is going wrong??

If it is then that is very unfortunate because it’s actually not that difficult!

We designed Export Box as a simple way for companies to get exporting into new markets and fortunately for the UK many are taking this up, let’s hope many more do and the next set of figures make for more pleasant reading.

Category: Translation | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Matthew Connaughton | August 7, 2009
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Gaelic translation for Scottish Parliament, via India

Just seen a report that Scottish Parly chiefs have gone and outsourced a Gaelic Translation project to a company based in India – via a UK based company (!) – only to use locally sourced linguists (local to Scotland) for the job. This is despite Holyrood employing two in-house Gaelic speakers, of course, prompting the Sun to cover the story.

Applied Language Solutions founder and CEO, Gavin Wheeldon gave his reaction;

“Even we have an office in India, but you can source linguists from anywhere in the world. You would have thought a domestic company would have the capacity to finish such a job without farming it out.” He goes on to add..

Scotland, India: (Very) close ties

Scotland, India: Very close ties

“With regards the cost, I would suggest this is an attempt just to get the business – so you might want to question the quality of a translation at that price. That said, there is quite a myth around the costs involved in translation in that it can actually be very cheap if you know how to find the right linguists – but you certainly don’t have to go halfway round the world to do it.”

Applied Language Solutions has over 14,000 in-country linguists. Amongst the 150 + languages they cover include the Irish, Scottish and Manx variants of Gaelic.

See the full story in The Sun

Category: Languages, Translation Mistakes | Tags: , , , , ,
Matthew Connaughton | July 31, 2009
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Lending figures add up to bad news for UK business

Gavin Wheeldon - CEO of Applied Language Solutions

Gavin Wheeldon: Concerned over business lending levels

Just read an interesting story on BBC News about the recent war of words between the Chancellor, Alistair Darling and the British Bankers Association (BBA) concerning the supposed (disputed) increase in business lending.

Following comments made by the Chancellor, that he was “Extremely concerned” about lending levels, the BBA promptly released figures that showed an increase in small business lending in June.

However, these latest figures are bound to cause further debate after it was revealed that the BBA classes a “small business” as one that has up to £1m annual turnover – effectively ‘fudging’ the stats, according to one blogger.

Applied Language CEO, Gavin Wheeldon commented:       “If business lending is down, and everything suggests that is the case, it puts increased pressure on the cash flow of small UK businesses. Most business borrowing tends to be for expansion related reinvestment, so this means that more companies will have their attempts at growth stifled – anything that does that, particularly during a recession, is extermely counterproductive for the economy.”

Read the full story here.

Category: Business Management | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Matthew Connaughton | July 21, 2009
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ALS boss reacts to Porsche payout

During the recession, the bonus culture which has (in part) helped to propel the global economy to  the dizzy heights from which it has recently plummeted (sic: and subsequently buried itself under its own terminal velocity), has come under fire from just about every possible angle.

From bank bosses to outgoing MP’s, public outcry against the endorsement of big bonuses and ‘golden parachutes’ has made proverbial mincemeat out of many a reputation (however well deserved said reputation may have seemed previously). With that in mind, it will come as no suprise to learn that outgoing Porsche chief, Wendelin Wiedeking may be in for similar treatment. Recent reports state he may receive a parting payout in excess of $100million after seventeen years at the helm of the German manufacturer. Couple that with the small factor of Porsche debts totalling some $10 billion and you might not find yourself surprised at such derision.

Beautiful! 740 of these - yours for $100m

If only! 740 of these - yours for just $100m

Speaking to Real Business, Applied Language Solultions CEO Gavin Wheeldon gave his reaction to the reports: “Wiedeking should be appropriately rewarded for the results he achieved earlier in his career at Porsche – but he shouldn’t be getting such a significant golden parachute at such a bad time for the business,” in reference to the company’s plummeting share price and €10bn debt added “any kind of exit bonus should be based on the current health of the business you are exiting.”

For the full story on Real Business, click here.

Category: Business Management | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
samp | June 30, 2009
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How Businesses Can Embrace Free Technology

Applied Language CEO Gavin Wheeldon spoke recently at the Future Focus Event in Edinburgh.

Here he shares his thoughts on how businesses can use technology (especially free technology!) to become more efficient and more effective.

Category: Technology, Translation | Tags: , , , , ,