Case studies

Case studies of organisations around the UK which have successfully addressed international communications issues are searchable by sector or by region/nation.

View case studies by sector

Consultancy
Education / Training
Energy & Utilities
Engineering / Electronics
Entertainment
Export
Fashion / Tailoring
Financial Services
Food & Drink
Health & Safety
ICT

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Leisure / Tourism
Manufacturing
Marketing / Exhibitions / Contact Centres
Media / Communications
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Consultancy

"No se habla ingles" say the Americans
Apertech, a small business in Bedfordshire improves business by communicating in the same language as customers.
Hosted by RLN East

E.ON Power Technology - languages bringing bottom-line benefits (pdf, 105kB)
E.ON plc - With its parent company based in Germany, 15% of E.ON's business is from overseas customers.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

INTERKONSULT – a winning formula, from Kazakhstan to Venezuela (pdf, 78kB)
INTERKONSULT Limited operates through overseas offices in Spain, the Dominican Republic and India, where its staff come from a variety of professional backgrounds and offer competences in a variety of languages.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

TriMark Europe – language and culture part of a plan to double turnover by 2008 (pdf, 88kB)
A winner in the small business category at the 2003 East Midlands Language for Export Awards, TriMark Europe is well aware of the central role of language competence in winning overseas business.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Mediation in a global market place needs the very best language skills (pdf, 69kB)
The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) is a leader in the growing field of mediation and other cost-effective dispute resolution and prevention techniques. CEDR recruitment and selection policies favour language and intercultural skills.
Hosted by RLN London

Arena Know-How Ltd
Twenty-five years in business consultancy at home and abroad have taught Brian Wilson that being culturally aware can mean the difference between success and failure in business.
Hosted by RLN North East

Wragge and Co.
Dating back to 1834, Birmingham-based Wragge & Co is now one of the most respected and fastest growing law firms in the UK. Though equipped to offer high levels of professionalism in every area of legal services, it excels in international law, a sector that now accounts for 25% of the company's turnover.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

Geothermal Heating International Ltd
The company designs heating and cooling systems powered by cheap, renewable energy drawn from underground, and also provides technical support and training. To date, the company has appointed overseas distributors in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Russia, who have secured overseas sales of well over £100,000.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

AKE Ltd
AKE Ltd based in Hereford, is one of several West Midlands winners of a Queen's Award for International Trade 2005. The company, of roughly 50 employees, specialises in security and risk consultancy, training, intelligence and support services. They have offices in London, Washington, Sydney and Baghdad.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

Languages an integral part of business
The UK oil industry has acknowledged Catalist as the definitive source for petrol station information in the UK. The company now delivers a range of products and services across the world in local languages.
Hosted by RLN South West

Savantor Ltd - Virtually E££ective (pdf, 103kb)
Savantor Ltd offers the financial/banking sector bespoke, specialist consultancy addressing the planning, implementation, optimisation and support of transaction processing with businesses focusing on Start-Ups, Outsourcing, Software Change, Back Office Operations, Cost/Income Initiatives and Regulatory Change.
The company (12 specialist consultants spanning the UK plus a newly established Nordic base in Copenhagen, Denmark and the support of some fifty other associates) works on a virtual basis only. On its search for new markets, Savantor took a new look on its webpage making it more useful to non-English speaking clients.
Hosted by RLN SE

Education/Training

The Open University in the North
The 20 years since The Open University first offered its courses to students in other EU countries have seen its Newcastle-based European operation blossom into the largest organisation of its type in Europe.
Hosted by RLN North East

Ripley St Thomas Church of England High School, Lancaster (pdf, 999kB)
As a specialist language college, Ripley St Thomas Church of England High School, Lancaster, was keen to show students how they can utilise language skills upon entering employment.
Hosted by RLN North West

Smartlyte
Through their work with St John Ambulance, training providers Smartlyte have helped people from ethnic communities to access vital first aid training.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

Energy & Utilities

EDF Energy powers up its language training programme in partnership with a BLIS Professional (pdf, 236kB)
With French as the official corporate language of the EDF group, the Learning and Development team at EDF Energy have developed a UK-wide approach for consistency in a fit-for-purpose language training offer for their employees.
Hosted by RLN London

Engineering/Electronics

SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd, Cardiff (pdf, 71kB)
SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd, an independent firm of consulting engineers and scientists, is a truly worldwide organisation. To operate efficiently and compete successfully in this global market, it has recognised the key value of languages capability and actively encourages its employees to acquire the appropriate language skills by funding Training and Development.
Hosted by LN Cymru

Mapping the market
Cadcorp develops software for geospatial applications in sectors such as local government and utilities. A global player, the company has an international outlook in that many of the company's 30 staff come from outside the UK - from Australia to Italy and South Africa to China.
Hosted by RLN East

Engineering Firm Couples Skills To Market Demands
HUCO Engineering, with sixty employees and an annual turnover of £5million, manufactures and distributes precision engineering components for special purpose machinery used in the food, packaging, robotics and process control industry. With worldwide sales, the company's major international markets are Japan, the USA and Western Europe.
Hosted by RLN East

Fruit Labellers Develop Total Solution
Sinclair International is the market leader in automatic high-speed fruit labelling systems. The company specialises in the labelling of loose fruit for sale in supermarkets, enabling retailers to correctly price loose fruit by easily identifying the variety and Price Look Up number at the checkout. Although the company operates worldwide, its major markets are Western Europe, the USA, South America, South Africa, Australasia and Thailand.
Hosted by RLN East

A&S - language strategies for export success (pdf, 99kB)
A&S International - The recent recruitment of a marketing development manager with linguistic skills has proven a shrewd move and has resulted in increased export business.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Chesterfield Special Steels (pdf, 65kB)
Chesterfield Special Steels, a new organisation that has a very important Italian supplier, realised the importance in languages and culture and so arranged language training for their management team.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

E.ON Power Technology - languages bringing bottom-line benefits (pdf, 105kB)
With its parent company based in Germany, 15% of E.ON's business is from overseas customers.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Intouch Monitoring – Making languages productive (pdf, 54kB)
This company has produced brochures in Spanish and German and their website has content in English, Spanish and Dutch. They are now working with Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce to produce German website content, a brochure and mail shots.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Iseki Vacuum Systems – passing the personality test (pdf, 94kB)
Given the importance of markets outside its home country, it is little surprise that the organisation has made a commitment to communication with its customers in their own language.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Rolls-Royce plc, Derby (pdf, 47kB)
One of the largest and best-known employers in the East Midlands. Read here how the company made sure of a successful transition by offering both cultural and language training to staff before relocating to Germany.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

R&D Tool and Engineering – a strategic approach to language and culture (pdf, 88kB)
A finalist at the 2004 East Midlands International Business Communications Awards and a winner of same awards for 2005. This case study takes a look at their strategic approach to language and culture.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Trelleborg Industrial AVS (pdf, 51kB)
When the Market Manager found out he was moving to Shanghai for work, learning Mandarin immediately became a priority for him and his family.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Canford Audio plc
Canford was established in 1978, in Newcastle, as a one-stop shop for the supply of components, such as speakers and headsets, for the radio industry. Canford's main export markets are France and Germany, but it is also active in Spain, Italy, Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East is a very important market too.
Hosted by RLN North East

CRD Devices
CRD Devices began life in 1995 after Stuart and Dave's former employer refocused its business away from providing bespoke electronic designs for customers. It currently operates from a 3,000 sq ft unit on All Saints Industrial Estate, and turns over about £500,000.
Hosted by RLN North East

Elfab
North Shields-based Elfab, a leading supplier of pressure-relief systems, works with some of the world's most prestigious companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Siemens, BASF and Nestlé. Central and Eastern Europe is a new market for the company following recent GOST approval, allowing it to trade in the Russian Federation.
Hosted by RLN North East

Hedley Purvis Ltd
Morpeth-based Hedley Purvis Ltd, UK arm of the Hedley Purvis Group's speciality is the complete process of providing leak-free mechanical joints. The group, which now employs 200 personnel around the world and turns over more than £10 million, has bases in Norway, Paris, the Far East, the USA and South America.
Hosted by RLN North East

MKW Engineering Ltd
MKW Engineering Ltd employs close to 200 across four subsidiaries on sites at Stargate Industrial Estate at Ryton, Gateshead. Founded in 1976, MKW Engineering Ltd provides specialist engineering solutions in the defence, offshore, sub-sea, chemicals, medical equipment, renewable energy and general engineering sectors.
Hosted by RLN North East

Liverpool Water Witch Sets Sail for China (pdf, 319kB)
Liverpool Water Witch: Established in 1963, the Liverpool-based family business has tirelessly been cleaning up the polluted waters of the city with their patented marine clean-up vessels. Already established in 14 countries across the globe, further opportunities to sell the equipment abroad were identified.
Hosted by RLN North West

Alphasonics cleans up its act (pdf file, 168kB)
Alphasonics designs and manufactures bespoke ultrasonic cleaning equipment to the printing, engineering and electronics sectors. The company employs 12 members of staff at its head office in Merseyside and, in addition, has a growing network of 20 international agents.
Hosted by RLN North West

AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is one of the largest helicopter companies in the world. A key challenge for AgustaWestland has been to adapt to the new culture and operating language of both the joint venture and parent companies.
Hosted by RLN South West

Air Control Industries Ltd
Air Control Industries Ltd (ACI) was established in 1969. The company supplies a wide range of high-specification, small to medium-size industrial fan units for virtually all industrial applications ranging from extraction, cooling and ventilation to aeration and surface drying processes.
Hosted by RLN South West

Multilingual skills vital for international operations
Centrax packages and sells industrial generator sets mainly for the European market including the UK and Ireland, but also emerging markets such as North and South America and Asia.
Hosted by RLN South West

Overcoming language and cultural barriers to trade
Cooknell Optronics has been designing and producing fibre optic products for the telecommunications and defence industries for almost ten years. Its customers include customers in the telecommunications, defence and medical industries as well as various university "spin off" companies.
Hosted by RLN South West

Scopevital
Scopevital Ltd is a Portland based firm that specialises in engineering systems for bio-dryer technology. The company went on a trade visit to the Baltic in October 2005 and engaged with RLN SW for translation of their website. This was just the start.
Hosted by RLN South West

Translating product literature makes the right impression
Renishaw plc designs and manufactures high precision metrology equipment for use in a wide range of industries.
Hosted by RLN South West

GKN
GKN has evolved from a largely domestic exporting company in the 1960s to a truly global operation with subsidiaries in twenty different countries spread across all six continents. Almost half of its workforce and more than half of its sales revenue come from outside the UK. The Frankfurt factory alone has employees who speak 17 different languages.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

BMW
The Bayerische Motoren Werke traces its history back to 1916 and now conducts automotive production in 22 sites across fourteen countries. Their presence in the West Midlands is concentrated at the Hams Hall plant near Coleshill. The site, employing 750 personnel, is the sole supplier to the BMW group of the four-cylinder Valvetronic engine.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

Linvic
Linvic Engineering Ltd was created in 1971 to offer a fast-track, top quality service supplying flanges to the then emerging North Sea oil industry. For the next 20 years or so they maintained their market position but were only supplying UK based customers.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

Chinese Site helps Daver Steel Business
Daver Steels, Sheffield are delighted by the impact their Chinese website is having. Its global presence was part of the reasoning behind a Chinese version of the website. They wanted to make life easier for their agents in China so they have created a site that can be used as a marketing tool there.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Firm Boosts Trade by Going Multilingual
Daco Solutions was awarded £5,000 as part of the Targeted Export Support Scheme (TESS), which is funded through UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward. The firm applied for the grant after getting advice from Business Link Humber's International Trade team and a communications expert from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Web Translation - Polar Instruments
An integrated website, which works in seven languages, has had a global impact on the success of Polar Instruments. Developing an international presence through the website has had a steady influence on orders. Orders are now received from all over the world, and English-speaking visitors now only account for 45% of web traffic.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Entertainment

Supreme Music
The UK dance music scene is currently going through a recession, brought on by the decline of vinyl and the increase in music piracy. We are having to look overseas for much of our business and the Japanese market is particularly appealing as it is vibrant and growing.
Hosted by RLN South East

Export

Fashion/Tailoring

Languages Help Small Business Source Worldwide
Twenty 01 01 specialises in up-market fashion and interior accessories and giftware from around the world. Although a small business with only two staff, many of the products adorning its shelves come from France, Morocco, India and Mexico, countries visited regularly by its two owner-partners.
Hosted by RLN East

Bury Company Ties up Languages (pdf, 101kB)
Bury based Tie & Scarf is used to dealing with foreign customers. But with ten members of staff, none of whom spoke languages, it was proving increasingly difficult to communicate with their ever-expanding customer-base.
Hosted by RLN North West

Clantex
Any company hoping to export can and should develop a language strategy according to Paul Hooker, Clantex's Managing Director; 'With much of production taking place in the developing world language was going to be an issue. And with one eye on the export market as well, the development of a language strategy was important to us.'
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Industrial Textiles & Plastics Ltd
Industrial Textiles & Plastics Ltd produces technical textiles and special engineered fabrics. Like many companies, their development began in the UK with domestic sales and then moved into export markets later. Without languages the company would have found it difficult to communicate particularly about new developments and new technologies.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Financial Services

Thomson Financial, Cardiff (pdf, 294kB)
Thomson Financial is one of the most complete sources for integrated information and technology applications in the global financial services industry. When recruiting staff Thomson Financial rates language skills of greater importance than any financial or technology experience. The company uses its own Thomson University to enhance its staff's language skills through computer-based language training.
Hosted by LN Cymru

Learning A Language Leads To Moo Business Abroad
LRMS, a small insurance business in West Suffolk is finding repeat success in entering the South American market. The Bury St Edmunds-based company, which specialises in livestock insurance, has targeted Peru and Argentina as countries from which it has received a steady flow of business. Their contacts abroad do not have a very good command of English, which makes it important for LRMS to acquire some knowledge of the Spanish language.
Hosted by RLN East

HSBC - Global expansion means a greater demand for language skills
At the heart of HSBC's corporate philosophy is the notion of employing local people in a global bank, who speak the local language and understand the local culture.
Hosted by RLN South West

West Bromwich Building Society
The West Brom is one of the oldest building societies in the UK and operates from 50 branches, mainly in the heartland of the West Midlands. The society's success has come from recognising that its clients respond better to a personalised service. Many of its customers come from ethnic minorities and thus have different cultural and linguistic needs than its traditional customers.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

Shell Shared Service Centre – Glasgow Limited - A successful and growing Multilingual Financial Shared Service Centre (pdf, 86kb)
Shell set up their multilingual shared service centre in the very heart of Glasgow opposite Central Station in 1998 and have rapidly recognised the benefit that it brings to their operations.
Hosted by LN Scotland

Food & Drink

Exciting their senses – using their language (pdf, 64kB)
Geeta's Foods Limited exports to supermarket chains in Germany, France and Portugal, and enjoys growing markets in Australia, the USA and Sweden. And it has achieved this with a streamlined management team.
Hosted by RLN London

A healthy mix of language and cultural strategies (pdf, 71kB)
Based in Ilford, Northern Edge is now the leading global supplier of the flax seed, selling to established retailers in the UK such as Harrods and Sainsbury's. Northern Edge's key European markets are Spain, France and Germany.
Hosted by RLN London

Multicultural workforce: a rich mix for Greencore Sandwiches (pdf, 68kB)
Greencore Sandwiches is the UK's largest sandwich manufacturer. As well as supplying sandwiches to major supermarkets, petrol forecourts and convenience stores, the Group makes super-premium products for some of the world's leading airlines.
Hosted by RLN London

International communications planning smoothes the way for export success (pdf, 71kB)
The Big J is based in North London, employs 18 people, and has achieved a turnover of more than £3.5 million in its first 30 months of trading. It supplies smoothies to numerous big-name retailers and caterers in the UK.
Hosted by RLN London

Pride Valley Foods
The Seaham firm manufactures speciality naan breads, tortilla wraps and pitta bread and with a turnover of £22 million, is recognised as the UK's market leader in speciality breads.
Hosted by RLN North East

Passionate about Cheddar (pdf, 108kB)
North Downs Dairy Ltd specialises in the selection and marketing of premium cheddar cheeses. They provide cheddar to the retail, wholesale, food service and food manufacturing sectors, as well as being distributed to over 30 countries worldwide.
Hosted by RLN South East

NISA International
NISA International is the export arm of the NISA Today's Group, which is the UK's largest buying group for independent retail and wholesale companies. Solely dedicated to exporting, and responsible for exporting 12,000 different supermarket products, this company knows the importance and the rewards of speaking the right language to the right people.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Health & Safety

Cope Safety Management (pdf, 55kB)
With the accession of ten new Member States to the European Union in 2004, an increasing number of this company's clients are now employing foreign workers. Delivering essential training in foreign languages is a key element in ensuring that these workers remain healthy and safe.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

ICT

Golfing Business Tees Off To A Good Start In China
Club Notice Board (CNB), a Suffolk-based small business with six staff, has been building web sites for over eighty golf courses around the country for the last five years, and has recently broken into overseas markets both in Europe and beyond. Visitors from over sixty one countries also access their websites, with a staggering six point four million hits last year alone.
Hosted by RLN East

There's no language business like hospitality for e21Software (pdf, 83kB)
E21 has developed a product which will grow from strength to strength not only within the hospitality sector but in other industries where the Internet and languages both play a crucial part.
Hosted by RLN North West

Synchro Systems Ltd
Synchro Systems Ltd, based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, provides ticketing and membership software for major sports tournaments, premiership and other league football clubs, including Arsenal, Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Celtic and Manchester United.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

CIDA
CIDA was established in January 2000 to provide infrastructural support to the development of the creative sector in the Yorkshire and The Humber region.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Law & Legal Services

AMJ Solicitors
Language skills have helped Andrew M. Jackson solicitors of Hull win international work in a wide variety of sectors including shipping and transport. The company is over 100 years old but their attitude is modern and global, offering a full range of specialist advice to private and commercial clients.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Leisure/Tourism

International approach makes hotel 'the place' to stay (pdf, 89kB)
Hotel La Place, a Marylebone-based and family-run hotel, employs twelve staff who speak about fourteen languages with varying degrees of fluency. The hotel's website has essential information about the hotel in eleven languages, including Japanese and Arabic.
Hosted by RLN London

Craglands Gift Shop (pdf, 241kB)
Delighted that they could communicate in their own language, sales to Japanese customers increased.
Hosted by RLN North West

Cultural understanding helps Radisson SAS Hotel Manchester Airport give guests a home from home (pdf, 427kB)
Radisson SAS has a policy of moving employees around the globe. If they want to gain exposure that will help fast track their career and help them develop as a person.
Hosted by RLN North West

Scotch in any Language (pdf, 65kB)
The Whisky Heritage Centre, a tourist visitor attraction, was formed by a Consortium of Scotland's leading whisky producers to encourage visitors to learn more about Scotland's national drink. It achieved its Investors in People award in 1997 for its multilingual, multi-tasking workforce.
Hosted by LN Scotland

Trailblazing language project (pdf, 70kB)
Highlands and Islands Enterprise linked up with Tourist Board Training to secure European Social Fund support for a language learning programme. The programme uses language skills to help staff to be more welcoming and helpful to customers, bringing real bottom-line benefits to businesses.
Hosted by LN Scotland

Kitley House Hotel
Andrew Huckerby took over the Kitley House Hotel about four years ago now, and has since built up its business successfully, so much so that occupancy levels are now about 80% all year round. The hotel is an historic luxury country house hotel in Devon, near Plymouth.
Hosted by RLN South West

Paradise Park
Paradise Park Wildlife Sanctuary, based in Hayle in Cornwall, incorporates the World Parrot Trust and is the country's leading centre for the promotion of parrot welfare both in the wild and captivity. The park is the base for the World Parrot Trust, a world-wide charity raising funds and awareness.
Hosted by RLN South West

South West Tourism: languages help attract foreign tourists to the region
Based in Exeter and employing forty staff, this company has responsibility for overseeing the South West's thriving tourist trade, which is essential to the region's economy and prosperity. In particular, the organisation strives to attract visitors to the South West, drive up the quality of what is on offer to tourists as well as ensuring the sustainability and development of tourism in the region.
Hosted by RLN South West

The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy
Six years ago the idea was first proposed to develop the former Naval Air Station at Osprey Quay into a World Class Sailing Academy. The clubhouse was officially opened in 2005. WPNSA will host the sailing events for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Hosted by RLN South West

Manufacturing

Environment Company Gets The Language Treatment
Brightwater Engineering found that by speaking in a customer's own language, they were demonstrating commitment. Brightwater Engineering specialises in high-efficiency small footprint biological processes for the treatment of sewage. Based in Letchworth, the company employs 45 people, and is already active in the French and Spanish markets, and is looking to expand into Eastern Europe.
Hosted by RLN East

Languages Assist Effective Negotiations
Catomance Technologies manufactures speciality chemicals for the textile and leather industry. The company, which employs twenty staff and has a turnover of £3 million, exports mainly to Europe and Asia. As the company is "searching prospects" around the world, it has translated its literature into French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Russian and Czech.
Hosted by RLN East

Held In High Esteem
Petlife, based in Bury St Edmunds and with a staff of 38, manufactures bedding for domestic pets and supplies medicines and other ancillary products to the animal healthcare industry. With a turnover of £3million, the company exports its products worldwide, with particular focus on Europe, Canada, Japan and Hong Kong.
Hosted by RLN East

Learning A Language Not Always A Strain
Strain Measurement, based in Chedburgh (Suffolk) and employing 22, manufactures thin film sensors for force and pressure measurement in medical and sub-sea applications. With a turnover of just over £1 million, 40% of the company’s exports are into Germany, with the remaining sold to the USA, Norway and France.
Hosted by RLN East

Making The Language Link
Umicore manufactures optics for CO2 laser systems used predominantly in cutting, welding and engraving. The company, a global supplier of optics and part of the Umicore Group with 15,000 employees worldwide (28 in Stevenage) and dedicated sales and technical staff in both the UK and the USA, operates through 25 offices around the world.
Hosted by RLN East

Bevex – making an exhibition of itself in Italian, French, German and Spanish (pdf, 74kB)
With blue-chip companies like Coca-Cola and McDonalds among its clients, and nearly half of its business coming from export, Bevex now plan to extend export sales to other parts of the world.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Bambino Mio Limited – languages helping the drive for increased overseas sales (pdf, 72kB)
Founded in 1996, Bambino Mio has grown quickly and has a current turnover of £3m; it plans to increase this to £10m by 2006.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Classic Motos: Languages – the driving force for success (pdf, 68kB)
Suppliers of classic motorcycle parts based in Leicester, Classic Motos have used their languages skills to boost sales in France by 30%.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Elastogran – learning languages provides personal and corporate benefits (pdf, 53kB)
Part of the BASF Group, Elastogran has seen important benefits after taking up German language training.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Fibretech - languages come first in recruitment process (pdf, 104kB)
Around 80% of Fibretech's turnover is in export sales, and the Pinxton-based manufacturer of custom-made metallic fibres has firm ideas about the importance of languages in the drive for overseas business.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Fogarty – a good night's sleep in any language (pdf, 79kB)
"Understanding the subtleties of working in overseas markets is not just important for us; it is critical".
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Lubrizol Limited – languages in a European business environment (pdf, 73kB)
This company believes equipping staff with foreign language skills is key to creating their identity, and has introduced a written language policy, outlining its commitment to developing employees' foreign language capabilities.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Luxfer Cylinders (pdf, 50kB)
Luxfer Cylinders bought out a French company and is now operating successfully on a European level.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Analox Sensor Technology
Gas sensor manufacturer Analox is detecting a real change in the bottom line, through its commitment to international communications.
Hosted by RLN North East

Bison Bede
County Durham Stairlift company Bison Bede is going up and up in the world market - and it's all down to speaking its customers' languages. With the launch of two new stairlifts, directors now have their eyes on foreign markets, and so the company has made its website and literature as accessible as possible for potential overseas clients.
Hosted by RLN North East

Cleveland Cascades
Based in Middlesbrough, Cleveland Cascades is a lifting gear manufacturer and the company, with a staff of eight, boasts a turnover of £1.1 million.
With 97 per cent of its sales coming from non-UK markets, Cleveland Cascades knows that sound international communications are vital to its success.
Hosted by RLN North East

Elmwood Sensors
Elmwood Sensors employs about 240 people at its West Chirton Industrial Estate, North Shields, base, where it manufactures thermostats and temperature sensors for use in gas boilers, white goods and the automotive industry.
Hosted by RLN North East

Palintest Ltd
Palintest Ltd has recently won new contracts in France - all thanks to the language skills of its sales team. The £6m turnover company employs more than 80 people manufacturing chemical monitoring tablets, and instruments for analysing the level of chemicals and impurities in water.
Hosted by RLN North East

Zytronic plc
A steadily expanding high-tech company is broadening its horizons and growing its business. Zytronic began life in Middlesex manufacturing gas mask lenses during the war and relocated to the North after hostilities. It produced just two main products: gas masks for what was then Yugoslavia, and lenses for respirators for the British Army.
Hosted by RLN North East

Bury Company Ties up Languages (pdf, 102kB)
Bury based Tie & Scarf is used to dealing with foreign customers. But with 10 members of staff, none of whom spoke languages, it was proving increasingly difficult to communicate with their ever-expanding customer-base.
Hosted by RLN North West

Alphasonics cleans up its act (pdf, 168kB)
Alphasonics designs and manufactures bespoke ultrasonic cleaning equipment to the printing, engineering and electronics sectors. The company employs 12 members of staff at its head office in Merseyside and, in addition, has a growing network of 20 international agents.
Hosted by RLN North West

Keith minds his language (pdf, 365kB)
Slater Harrison was founded 76 years ago in 1929 and employs 120 people. They have a current turnover in excess of £14m. The Bollington-based paper and board manufacturer had two options, either make the effort to learn foreign languages or continue to lose business.
Hosted by RLN North West

TRM Electronics put language strategy into motion (pdf, 195kB)
TRM established in 1994, the electronics firm designs and manufactures equipment for industrial machine and robot control in industries such as catering. These products and services are exported to countries all over the world.
Hosted by RLN North West

VW Heritage: To Market on a Pony? (pdf, 74kB)
VW Heritage specialises in supplying spare parts to VW enthusiasts eager to keep their pride and joy, classic fun machines in tip-top condition and ahead of the game.
Hosted by RLN South East

Avon Rubber - Languages integral to the firm's international dimension
Avon Rubber is an international manufacturer of high technology rubber and polymer products which are used for a number of different purposes in various industries that include automotive, diary and defence.
Hosted by RLN South West

Datum Alloys
Datum Alloys is a small company which processes specialist alloys for the electronics industry. Language competence is used as a major selling-point, and has contributed to the company's success - over 60% of their business is export.
Hosted by RLN South West

Esterlam International Ltd
Esterlam's innovative approach to surmounting the language barrier has had dramatic results for the Devon SME, which manufactures and supplies print machine parts.
Hosted by RLN South West

G&S Smirthwaite Ltd
G&S Smirthwaite Ltd design and manufacture specialist equipment and furniture for people with special needs, and for conductive education purposes. The company regularly receives students on placement from the Leonardo da Vinci scheme, who have contributed to business development.
Hosted by RLN South West

grogroup international: languages helping to build overseas success
grogroup International specialises in the manufacture and distribution of grobag® baby sleeping bags, other sleep related nursery products and maternity products. The company has discovered that being aware of subtle cultural differences can make or break customer relationships.
Hosted by RLN South West

Lister Shearing Equipment
Lister Shearing Equipment can trace their origins back to 1860 and with their first shearing machine produced in 1909 they claim to be the longest established sheep-shearing manufacturer in the world. Towards the end of 2005 the Sales Manager, Ginny Collis, recognised that the development of their new markets might need a fresh marketing approach.
Hosted by RLN South West

Pittards:- languages enhance understanding and help build stronger relationships with foreign customers
Pittards Headquartered in Yeovil, Somerset, Pittards is world renowned for manufacturing and supplying high performance leather to leading brands of gloves, shoes, luxury leather goods and sports equipment.
Hosted by RLN South West

Protection Racket
Protection Racket is a small company which manufactures cases for musical instruments. When the company joined the UK T&I's Passport to Export programme and managed to secure a last minute place on a trade mission to Japan, RLN SW local advisors were there to help make the mission a success.
Hosted by RLN South West

HQA Ltd
HQA Ltd, based in Norton Canes, Cannock, specialises in quality, environment and health and safety management systems, mainly for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

ACS Ltd
ACS Ltd, based in Minworth, Sutton Coldfield, is one of several West Midlands winners of the Queen's Awards for Enterprise 2005. The small company of sixteen, who manufacture and supply spare parts for crushing, demolition and recycling machines, triumphed in the International Trade category due to massively increasing their exports.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

The Brock Metal Company
The Brock Metal Company, based in Norton Canes, Cannock, manufactures Zinc and Aluminium alloy ingots for use in the foundry and die-casting industries. Employing a workforce of over seventy people, the company now supplies metal alloys across Europe.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

Keith Blair Ltd
Uttoxeter-based Keith Blair Ltd are a manufacturing agents representing companies from Italy and Germany, so it's not difficult to see why language skills have become so important to their day to day operations.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

Vanguard Foundry Ltd
Stourbridge-based Vanguard Foundry Ltd have increased exports and gained many international leads through recognising the importance of localising their website.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

AES SEAL
The development of AES SEAL has relied heavily on developing first class language skills. With growth in excess of 25% per year they have managed to succeed and are the only major international new entrant, to the mechanical seals industry, in the last twenty years.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

The Alternative Grass Company: Help to Keep the Grass Co. Growing
Established three years ago, the company employs twelve staff and is hoping to expand quickly after recognising the potential in exporting.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

ASM Group: Flying Languages
The ASM Group manufacture and supply Airfield Lighting and Signs for major airports around the world. Group Manager Keith Slack believes that languages have had a role to play in the successful and international development of the company.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Blind Trade Supplies
Blind Trade Supplies has a hot reputation for keeping customers in the shade. They believe their export success stems from making the right language connections and have achieved some big international contracts and won the language prize of the South Humberside Export Association Awards as a result.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Ciba Specialty Chemicals
The Swiss-owned chemical company recognised that employees wanted to communicate better with their head office counterparts in Basel, as well as at other Ciba sites, and arranged for German language classes to be held at the Low Moor plant.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Classic Door Panels: Language in Practice
Since creating the export department of Dewsbury based Classic Door Panels in 1995, Steve Haynes has made sure that 98% of all export business has been conducted in a foreign language, accounting for up to 35% of turnover. In this interview he outlines the role language plays in export success and his own career.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Clucas MOE: Multilingual Success for Humber Company
A Humberside company which specialises in forced entry in hostage relief operations, is bowled over by the effect their international website is having. Creating a website that welcomes you in French, German, Spanish and Italian as well as English has already helped Clucas MOE reach international markets.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Marcrist International Ltd
Languages play a major role in Marcrist International's success. The company is one of Europe's leading manufacturers of diamond products, abrasives and surface preparation equipment and exports to over 43 countries. It has twice won the Northern Exporter of the Year award.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

P&L Systems
P&L Systems of Knaresborough employs many linguists; in fact about 20% of the staff of over 100 are multilingual. Many of these have been recruited as graduates. They emphasise the importance of languages where overseas success is concerned.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Thermilate: Internationalising needn't cost the earth
Whilst many export communications reviews involve the fine tuning of technical support in foreign languages, or advising exporters on how to adapt to cultural differences in overseas markets, this example was really just about making the company's innovative product more internationally accessible.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Marketing/Exhibitions/Contact Centres

Worldwide contact centre and assistance network: multilingual expertise means multinational success (pdf, 66kB)
Prestige International Inc. is a truly global company. Headquartered in Tokyo, it operates in thirteen countries around the world, with over 1000 staff and an annual global turnover exceeding £40 million. Via Prestige International's contact centres, customers can access services by many different means.
Hosted by RLN London

going native on world trade
Native Marketing: With a range of clients, many from the IT and telecommunications sector and others from the manufacturing, professional and service sectors, Native is building a strong international presence and wants to accelerate this growth still further.
Hosted by RLN North West

Sykes multilingual call centres (pdf, 80kB)
Sykes Enterprises is a major global organisation with headquarters in Florida, but its northern European operations are run from Edinburgh. The group has an HQ with 150 staff, and a call centre with about 500 employees.
Hosted by LN Scotland

Languages and maximising their return from the Internet (pdf, 62kB)
Rabbie's Trail Burners is an Edinburgh based minicoach company established in 1993, which saw business increase significantly when they made their web site multilingual.
Hosted by LN Scotland

Clip Ltd
Clip Display supply products and services, including banner systems, graphics and exhibition stands, all over the world, with a team of 17 regionally based sales personnel, 3 wholly owned subsidiaries in France, Germany and Belgium and 20 overseas distributors.
Hosted by RLN South West

TEAM Europe Ltd
TEAM Europe is a marketing agency based in Plymouth specialising in international marketing. To carry out their international campaigns, the company often needs to recruit mature people with either language skills or native speakers who live locally.
Hosted by RLN South West

NEC
The NEC in Birmingham ranks as the largest exhibition centre in Britain and the seventh largest in Europe. Its calendar is dominated by trade shows attracting an international clientele, to the extent that when planning for exhibitions they need to think in terms of multiple cultures and languages.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

Media/Communications

Golfing Business Tees Off To A Good Start In China
Club Notice Board (CNB), a Suffolk-based small business with 6 staff, has been building web sites for over eighty golf courses around the country for the last five years, and has recently broken into overseas markets both in Europe and beyond. Visitors from over sixty one countries also access their websites, with a staggering six point four million hits last year alone.
Hosted by RLN East

ClinPhone Limited – reporting results in Cebuano, Tagalog, and Telugu (pdf, 100kB)
Through the use of native speakers and specialist software, this Nottingham company can currently offer its services in over 70 languages.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

languages are logical for magenta (pdf, 110kB)
Magenta netLogic is a global pricing, network information and optimisation tool, with supply chain management for local loop and end-to-end connectivity. With offices in the UK and US, it currently supports information from telecoms providers in over 65 countries worldwide.
Hosted by RLN North West

Reuters - Language skills used to provide world-class financial information
Reuters is a leading global information company providing indispensable information for professionals in the financial services, media and corporate markets. From its strategic European site in Tiverton, it is committed to recruiting and developing people with language skills across its operations.
Hosted by RLN South West

5AM Records
Based in Walsall Wood, 5AM Studios was created in 1992 to support local performers. Managed by Michael Grant and Tony Bean, the studio began principally by working with local acts and mastering their demo tapes ready for production - But with the advent of 5AM Records in 2001, the enterprising duo decided to expand their role to include disc production, act management and distribution.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

Medical/Veterinary/Alternative Therapy

Medi-Direct (pdf, 62kB)
Medi-Direct believes that speaking its customer's language means that there is no hindrance in accessing markets where English is not the mother tongue.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Language and cultural strategies for pain-free exports (pdf, 69kB)
Body Clock Health Care Limited is a leading supplier of TENS machines and other electronic healthcare devices to medical professionals and hospitals worldwide, including the NHS in the UK. Body Clock has undertaken a range of practical measures to increase its European sales.
Hosted by RLN London

Dorwest Herbs
Dorwest Herbs is acknowledged as the authoritative company in the field of veterinary herbal medicine, and exports its range to 18 countries worldwide. Product information is currently available in the native language for customers in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Netherlands, Norway and Portugal with others in the course of preparation.
Hosted by RLN South West

A Little Language Can Make a Big Difference
Learning languages can prove useful throughout your life and is not exclusively for those organisations that plan to export. This study features two small businesses who have found language learning to be of benefit for them.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Multi-Sector

Dorset firms learn French in four days
A recent pilot, sponsored by the Regional Language Network South West, has demonstrated that language learning can help companies break into new markets – and can be fun! As one participant said, 'This was one of, if not the best learning experience I have ever undertaken'.

Public Sector

Manchester City Council (pdf, 232 kB)
Business and etiquette protocol is extremely important and should be observed.
Hosted by RLN North West

South West UK Brussels Office
The South West UK Brussels Office gives the SW a unified voice in Brussels. The office does not trade as such, but has contacts with EU institutions (Commission, Parliament, Council, and Committee of the Regions), it also deals with other regional offices and interest representations from all 25 EU member states.
Hosted by RLN South West

Retail/Distribution

Getting Fruity With Languages
Pineapple Park: With a turnover of over £1 million and a staff of 30, Hitchin-based greeting card publishers Pineapple Park sells into a number of international markets, including Cyprus, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Denmark, Israel, Canada and Australia. The company also imports from a French publisher and has recently imported its first licensed range, featuring Winnie the Pooh.
Hosted by RLN East

Bambino Mio Limited – languages helping the drive for increased overseas sales (pdf, 72kB)
Founded in 1996, this company has grown quickly and has a current turnover of £3m; it plans to increase this to £10m by 2006.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

A healthy mix of language and cultural strategies (pdf, 71kB)
Based in Ilford, Northern Edge International Limited is now the leading global supplier of the flax seed, selling to established retailers in the UK such as Harrods and Sainsbury's. Northern Edge's key European markets are Spain, France and Germany.
Hosted by RLN London

Selling to the world (pdf, 67kB)
World Duty Free, BAA's tax and duty free retailer, has 1,850 employees in its 65 stores, with 1,000 in 30 outlets at Heathrow alone. Its challenge is to manage a business which engages passengers and enhances their experience, while maximising the commercial opportunities available.
Hosted by RLN London

RTR
The Gateshead-based company is the UK subsidiary of German-based RTR Handelsgesellschaft. The company supplies tubes, pipes and forgings to the power industry.
Hosted by RLN North East

TOFFS - The Old Fashioned Football Shirt Company
Life is looking wunderbar for a celebrated Tyneside company that makes replica football strips from yesteryear for nostalgic fans. Now, thanks to the company's emphasis on communicating with its overseas customers, TOFFS has also formed an alliance with German sports retailer Eckball and is negotiating rights deals with football clubs across Germany.
Hosted by RLN North East

Xtralite
With a turnover of £6 million, Xtralite is the UK's leading roof glazing specialist. The company's products range from skylights for small offices to custom-made products for railway stations. Its roof lights and canopies are used for projects in both the public and private sectors, including education, healthcare, and leisure.
Hosted by RLN North East

Craglands Gift Shop (pdf, 241kB)
Delighted that they could communicate in their own language, sales to Japanese customers increased.
Hosted by RLN North West

'Too Good an Opportunity to Miss!' (pdf, 287kB)
Evans Vanodine is a family-owned business that has been around since 1919. Operating from a 100,000 square foot factory on a five acre site in Eccles, the company now employs 130 people and enjoys a turnover in excess of £13 million.
Hosted by RLN North West

The Language of Excellence (pdf, 155kB)
Harvey Nichols, a high street retailer with overseas stores, set up a formal partnership with Edinburgh's Telford Further Education College to develop language training courses for staff.
Hosted by LN Scotland

National Clearance Centre
The National Clearance Centre, run by Foray Motor Group, offers more than 25,000 different brand new parts and accessories for older Ford vehicles from its depot in Wiltshire. The Centre has been in the German market since its launch in 2005 and committed to UKT&I Passport to Export training to develop its export market further.
Hosted by RLN South West

John Lewis
John Lewis's Solihull branch is improving its service to deaf customers by training many of its partners in British Sign Language.
Hosted by RLN West Midlands

Languages Mean Business at UBC
UBC is the market leader in moving dry-bulk plastics for all of the top European polymer producers. They have over 44 locations and operate in 19 European countries and a further 10 worldwide. Communication is key to their business success.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Lindam Ltd
Languages are extremely important for Lindam in terms of maintaining customer relations with overseas clients. Languages certainly help to build customer confidence and facilitates the exchange of information between companies.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Science/Research/Technology

Striking it Rich Through Languages
Falcon Global provides development, technical support and expert resources to the oil and gas industry, predominantly in Algeria and parts of the Middle East. The company, based in Norwich and with a total staff of eight, has also developed the PathMaker™ software commissioning management tool, which is making headway in many international markets.
Hosted by RLN East

R&D Tool and Engineering – a strategic approach to language and culture (pdf, 88kB)
R&D Tool and Engineering - a finalist at the 2004 East Midlands International Business Communications Awards and a winner of same awards for 2005. This case study takes a look at their strategic approach to language and culture.
Hosted by RLN East Midlands

Language initiatives keep company one step ahead (pdf, 103kB)
Neural Technologies Limited, based in Petersfield near Portsmouth, provides IT solutions to detect fraud and protect revenue. The company works primarily with the financial and telecoms markets to which its flagship, state-of-the-art software, Minotaur is primarily dedicated.
Hosted by RLN South East

The Met Office: languages and science are a good combination
Languages and their importance in the work of the Met Office, especially its international role, have brought changes in how foreign language skills and cultural awareness are valued in employees and potential job applicants.
Hosted by RLN South West

Shape Technology
At a recent meeting overseas business forum event held for the Dorset CCI, Malcolm Jenkins, Managing Director of Shape, outlined 4 strategies as a guide to success in the international market. Languages and culture were high on the list of elements in each category.
Hosted by RLN South West

Causeway Graphical Systems Ltd
Causeway Graphical Systems Ltd has been selling business and statistical charting tools around the world since 1994. Basic survival skills in German, French and Italian have helped this company develop international relationships even though most of the companies they supply have English-speaking skills.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Yorktest Laboratories
Yorktest Laboratories developed a food intolerance test and C.E.O. John Graham, himself once an arthritis sufferer, recognised they had something of international significance on their hands. By employing a linguist who has six languages, the company's tests have developed into international big business.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

Transport

Languages make logistics a smooth operation for Whittle Eastern Europe (pdf, 229kB)
As a specialist logistics company operating across 28 central eastern European regions, Whittle Eastern Europe relies on having a fast and accurate flow of information; our language skills enable us to offer that.
Hosted by RLN North West

Native Language Takes IPB Forward (pdf, 160kB)
The freight, parcel and logistics Manchester based company recognised that dealing with international companies means it's becoming increasingly necessary for the effort in communications to be two way, in order to put yourself one step ahead of the competition.
Hosted by RLN North West

Flybe: a growing number of international routes increasing the demand for languages skills amongst employees
Flybe currently employs around 1,500 staff, with over 800 staff based at Exeter International Airport. With a growing European network, it is no surprise therefore that the ability to speak a European language is an increasingly important asset amongst its employees.
Hosted by RLN South West

Danbrit Shipping Ltd: Work is a Fun Learning Experience
Danbrit prides itself on the diversity of the service it can offer. With the provision of a range of vessels from small coasters up to Panamax, for example, they have the capacity to ship cargoes of all shapes and sizes, anywhere in the world.
Hosted by RLN Yorkshire and The Humber

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