Elanex wants Thai presence

TRANSLATION SERVICES

Elanex Inc, a global translation services and technology company, plans to build a stronger presence in Southeast Asia through a new sales office in Thailand.

Calvin Lee, Elanex's general manager for Thailand and Indochina, said the company aimed to use the Thailand office as the hub to enter 10 countries in the region.

''There are fewer competitors here, compared with a location such as Singapore, with only five or six local translation companies. These companies mostly offer only English to Thai translation or vice versa,'' said Mr Lee, a 29-year-old Malaysian national. ''And only one or two of them can provide English translation that is up to standard.''

Elanex has 25,000 human translators worldwide and provides 24-hour online translation services in 126 languages for tasks as personal as love letters and for technical documents including a space manual.

The San Francisco-based company expects half its Thailand clients to be from the growing Mice (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) industry, 20% from the financial sector and the rest from hotels, airlines and law firms.

Currently, the company has been talking to about 30 clients. Of these, 21 are foreign and nine are Thai companies, including spa businesses, hotels and legal firms.

Mr Lee expects cheaper prices to attract companies that need translation to expand their markets but are tightening their belts due to the global economic crisis.

''Our price is about 30% cheaper than other leading translation companies. Our translation technology helps save cost and time and ensure quality and consistent translation,'' he said.

Elanex expects the Thai office to generate US$1 million in translation revenue in 2009. It hopes to become the leader in the Thai market by 2011 with estimated revenue of $5 million.

According to the research and consulting firm Common Sense Advisory Inc, the world language services market is expected to reach $24 billion by 2012, up from $14.25 billion in 2008 with a compounded annual growth rate of 14.6%. The revenue growth is expected to come mainly from increased sales in an economic environment favourable to international trade and relations.

Based on translation revenue, European companies have a market share of around 43%, followed by the United States at 40%, Asia 12% and the rest of the world 5%.

The research found that the language service industry is reaping the benefits of a more global economy as companies increase their global exposure and, along with governments, strive to meet the needs of diverse populations at home and abroad.

Mr Lee said translation and localisation were crucial in penetrating local markets. Some markets such as Scandinavian countries prefer products with content in their languages.

''Some companies, for example, have lost business deals with Dubai partners as their business documents showed perfect English content but poor Arabic translations,'' he said. ''Clients would say, 'If you don't respect our language, then don't bother.'''