Andrew Schlich

Is it really 25 years ago that I launched AST? It’s been an exciting ride so far and there’s no sign of things quietening down yet.

Back in the late 1990s we were a small specialist provider of German to English translations to German and Swiss banks and multinationals.

We’ve moved on a bit since then but thanks to many loyal clients (some of whom have been with us from the beginning) and fantastic staff and translators we’re still very much in business.

The Swiss theme has been very important for the subsequent evolution of the company because with their four national languages the Swiss are perhaps Europe’s most natural and discerning linguists. As well as being a country of linguists, Switzerland punches way above its weight and size in economic terms. In order to maximise the opportunities I could see there, we had to provide a tailor-made translation service to almost every customer. This involved creating business processes that enabled clients to select their preferred translators from a shortlist we’d carefully compiled for them, and then to request the same translator for similar projects in future. The translators were encouraged to become as familiar with the client’s business as possible, since an understanding of context (for example content purpose, author, department, industry sector, etc.) gave them an enormous advantage compared with the traditional approach of keeping translators in silos and making them work in a vacuum.

Over 25 years later these principles and processes are now second-nature to us. Our translators are still very carefully selected and an understanding of context remains central to every translation project we carry out.

We still work with a number of our original clients that have stayed loyal to us since our inception. In addition we’ve built successful long-term relationships translating into international export languages for many large UK companies and SME exporters. More recently we’ve successfully tapped into new areas such as community language support for Not For Profits and HR departments, and course module translations for eLearning and training companies.

Like many other business sectors the translations sector is under severe productivity pressures. At AST we’ve tried to avoid a “one size fits all” approach whilst utilising the benefits of AI tools both for translation and for more general business process improvement. Above all we’ve retained and built on our original ethos of spending time to get to know the client, choosing the right translators for the project, and ensuring that understanding of context is still fundamental to our tailor-made service.

Working in a successful translation business is a pretty “full-on” experience even at quieter times, but I’m proud to say my colleagues handle the challenges with cool heads, dedication and absolute professionalism.

In this age of AI and “big data” it’s sometimes easy to overlook the human factor in business relationships. My business philosophy has always been to strive to build long-term relationships based on trust. I believe there is more to doing business than mere transactions: what our clients are looking for is a buying experience that will reassure them that we truly have their interests at heart.

Thank you for taking the time to visit our website and read my intro. I hope it has reassured you that working with AST as your translation partner will prove to be a sound business decision.

I’d welcome any feedback you can give about our service or any suggestions you can make to help us improve further.

Please email aschlich@astls.co.uk