Press Release
Gavin Wheeldon Comes Out On Top.
Gavin Wheeldon, adds to his extensive repertoire by winning Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Yorkshire and Humber, Director of the Year awards 2007.
Gavin Wheeldon, Chief Executive of Applied Language Solutions, a leading translation and interpretation company came out on top at the Yorkshire and Humber Region Institute of Directors (IoD) awards on Thursday 6th September at Leeds town Hall.
Gavin was awarded the IoD ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ in recognition of the hard work, determination and skills he has demonstrated whilst setting up Applied Language Solutions single-handedly. What was once a one-man business operating from his back bedroom is now an award-winning company.
Gavin explains “The translation industry is very much a trade whose roots are in academia not commerce. I saw a gap in the market to totally transform the processes involved in both business generation and delivery. At that time, no-one was exploiting the advantages of the Internet and technology to improve the level of service for customers, and so I grabbed the opportunity with both hands.”
Over the last four years, Gavin has driven his highly successful translation and interpretation company into an international operation with sales of £3.7 million, despite not being able to speak a foreign language himself. The company now boasts 70 staff and 8 offices worldwide, including offices in England, USA, Spain, India, Hong Kong, France, Bulgaria and Guatemala. Further expansion plans include opening an office in Chicago, USA later next month.
Gavin is no stranger to award ceremonies as the prestigious IoD Entrepreneur award is not his only success. In 2006, his accolades included, ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ in the Chamber Awards in 2006, National Finalist for the category ‘Credit Suisse Entrepreneur of the Year’ Award in the National Business Awards in November 2006 and he was ‘Highly Commended Young Business Person of the Year’ in the Huddersfield Daily Examiner Business Awards 2006.
During 2007 Gavin’s entrepreneurial talents were further commended when he was Finalist for the category, ‘Best Executive in Europe’ in the 2007 International Business Awards and Finalist yet again for ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ North East Region of the National Business Awards 2007.
It is clear that the risk has certainly paid off for Gavin. He had some words of wisdom for his fellow budding entrepreneurs: “Starting my own business has changed my life. I actually get up in the morning looking forward to coming to work. If you have a product or service that you truly believe in, then go for it. It will be a lot of hard work but determination will see you through to a successful ending.”
Gavin Wheeldon, 31, was always destined to be a successful entrepreneur showing early promise as he started his own window cleaning business in his local area, Mossley, at the tender age of 12.
“While my friends were earning £5 a week doing paper rounds or working in local shops, I was able to make a lot more. This was my first taste of running a business and earning a lot of money and I liked it, even as a young kid” Gavin said.
After following a path of successful sales jobs, Gavin’s first true taste of entrepreneurship came at the age of 20 when he established the ‘Government Information Bureau’. Gavin employed a research team who compiled databases of public sector buyers. This quickly grew to a workforce of 50, before Gavin fell victim to the unpredictable consequences of running a business, resulting in the company’s closure.
After this misfortune, he returned to sales, an industry of which he was familiar until his next entrepreneurial venture. At the age of 27, Gavin again took the plunge back into business for himself and he launched Applied Language Solutions in October 2003 with the principal aim being to use technology to provide quicker, cheaper and improved quality translation services. This is essentially where the company’s competitive edge lies today.
Applied Language Solutions translate all kinds of documents from simple letters to large technical documents, including whole websites and printed catalogues, for specialist Medical, Legal, Financial and Marketing organisations. The company is committed to using only professional in-country translators and interpreters, of whom they now have over 14,000 on their books. These translators work in over 140 languages including all the major European, Asian, African, Middle Eastern and American languages.
Applied Language Solutions are proud to have won the HSBC Start-up stars award 2006 and the AXA Small to Medium Sized Business Award 2007.
For press and media enquiries please call:
Jodie McDermott – PR Executive on +44(0)870 225 0243 or email jmcdermott@appliedlanguage.com