| TriMark Europe recently moved
to new premises in Coalville, Leicestershire, from where it distributes heavy-duty
vehicle door hardware such as handles, latches and locks to the whole of the European
market. "A fundamental part of our strategy
is to bring European languages into TriMark," says Keith Dolbear, Managing
Director. France is the company's most important export market, where it is now
well established. "One of the reasons for our success in France has been
the recruitment of French students on work placement," says Keith. "They
have developed relationships with new distributors and clients in a way that wouldn't
otherwise have been possible, and they have also given us some subtle insights
into the French way of doing business." In 2002, TriMark
took on a French postgraduate student in business and languages, Nathalie Gouezel,
whose fluency in French, German and English was the main reason for her selection.
Her German skills were particularly useful as the company was very keen to establish
a stronger position in the German market through recruitment of a local agent.
"As well as helping us in France, Nathalie has been instrumental in our entry
to the German market," comments Keith. "We couldn't have done it without
her." Nathalie's placement was so successful that she has stayed with TriMark
and is now a full-time employee, making an important contribution to the business
with her language and other skills. The company's enthusiasm
for languages extends to its literature and website too. The entire website is
available in French, German and Italian as well as English, with the latest product
and company news also on-line in the other three languages. "We see this
as vital for export sales," remarks Keith. The firm was the first in its
industry to develop a multilingual website, and worked with a well-established
and professional agency to ensure that the content was accurate. In such a specialised
field, this attention to detail has proved critical, avoiding any potentially
embarrassing or misleading translations.
Although
a subsidiary of a large American corporation which manufactures door hardware
products, TriMark Europe is a comparatively small concern, with only twelve employees
at the Coalville site. However, the team has achieved notable success in export
markets in recent times: sales outside the UK have risen from 31% of turnover
in 2000 to over half of it in 2004.
"Being
able to respond to customer needs in their own language has been an important
part of this success," comments Keith Dolbear. "At a simple level, they
know they can pick up the phone to us and find someone who can speak to them in
their mother tongue. That makes us accessible, responsive and easy to do business
with." TriMark has a clear strategy for the future,
with an objective to double its turnover by 2008. Keith Dolbear is in no doubt:
"We're confident that we'll achieve this ambitious target; I'm also certain
that languages will play a big part in getting us there." -
back Source:
RLN East Midlands |
