Member Article

Laird Expert reports boost for languages department

Wirral based Laird Expert is reporting a surge in demand for its languages department.

Laird Expert delivers the UK’s premier automotive expert witness service to both business and consumers, employing more than 60 staff.

Its forensic reports are used for many purposes including damage assessment, legal, insurance and valuation requirements.

Its languages department - which was launched in to 2013 to support cases involving foreign nationals and non-native speakers - now delivers interpretation and translation services in 75 different languages with turnover breaking through the £250,000 barrier.

Laird Languages manager Christine Baty said the department has developed its own unique database of linguistics experts from across the country. And while the majority of work is referred through Laird Expert, the department is seeing a sharp increase in outside contracts.

“We have witnessed rapid growth in the last 12 months with our translations and interpretation offering rising from 55 to 75 languages,” she said. “With that turnover has broken through the £250,000 mark for the first time in the department’s history representing an average number of 100 new instructions per month. We have also employed two new staff in the last year.

“Our coverage is nationwide, and we are confident we can source fast and accurate translation services in any language to support an individual or business anywhere in the UK. All our translators are highly skilled professionals and qualified with the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI). We believe we offer one of the best translation services in the UK for both range and quality of service. Our consistent standards set us out from many competitors. There are a lot of specialists out there that deal with one or two specific languages, and other firms which offer more but struggle with quality control.

“Laird Languages was initially set up because of a significant requirement from our core assessing business at Laird Expert. Due to the UK’s multi-ethnicity, we found that interpretation services were frequently needed to efficiently explain legal documents to clients and provide witness statements throughout the car insurance process. We continue to support Laird Assessors but have grown way beyond our initial purpose.”

Christine said there is large scope for growth and the language experts are actively targeting legal, civil litigation, exporters, tech, manufacturing, engineering, commercial and medical sectors. The department is building a strong track record having completed 769 interpretation cases, including 200 court cases, as well as 250 written translations.

Christine said the business recently completed its largest ever translation involving a 12,000-word document.

“Our complete offering is broad, flexible and covers all manner of areas. For instance, our interpretation service can be used for medical appointments, witness statement appointments, council meetings, health & safety assessments, court hearings, conference calls, office and home appointments.

“Meanwhile, our translation service can be used for medical and accident reports, hospital records, legal pleadings, website translation, council documents, cold call enquiries and professional contracts amongst many other things.

“There are more than 260 languages spoken in Europe alone, so we are looking to continually expand our service offering with skilled linguistics experts. We see large potential for growth in the manufacturing, commercial, engineering and broader exporter sector, and we are keen to hear from any firms looking for support to break the language barrier.”

For more information contact Christine Baty on 0151 342 9961 Email: language@laird-assessors.com or visit the webpage www.laird-assessors.com/language-services

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sam Pinnington .