Having read French and German at the University of Oxford and completed an MA in Translating at the University of Salford, I worked in-house for Lloyd International Translations Limited for four years, where I was appointed Production Director. I set up as a sole trader freelance translator in October 2001 and now run a small translation company comprising six full-time translators - including myself - working from German and French into English. I expanded the business towards the end of 2004 at the direct request of a major customer and have been experiencing steady growth ever since. My in-house translators have first degrees in Modern Languages and MA degrees in Translating (one from the University of Leeds and four from the University of Salford, where two of them were awarded university prizes for their translation work).

The team of translators means that we are able to offer both increased output rates and a complete translation, revision and review service. The combined output rate for the six of us based on source word translation is approximately 17,500 words per day. As we work as a team we are able of course to ensure consistency in respect of style and terminology, which I am sure you will agree is essential to high-quality translation.

As a company we are committed to a programme of CPD and ongoing training. I recently achieved Advanced Level SDL Trados Certification and my Senior Translator Steve Gray is due to take part in the next round of examinations for qualified membership of the ITI in November this year. We are also in the process of forging a relationship with the engineering department at the Manchester College of Arts and Technology with a view to long-term training provision and possible consultancy services, as we align our translation, checking, revision and review processes with the requirements of BS EN 15038.

We have a system of in-house work instructions and procedures for quality assurance.

We have active links with the higher education system, contributing to the business practice series of seminars held as part of the MA Translating and Interpreting course at the University of Salford each year. We have also spoken at events held by the National Network for Translation and I have been asked to speak at the conference to mark the network's first anniversary at the University of Salford in November 2008.

We are fully conversant with the latest TM technologies and have six SDL Trados 2007 licences plus Transit XV.

We pride ourselves on an ability to combine adherence to strict deadlines with top quality, which we believe is what leads customers to place repeat business with us.