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SOUTH OGDEN -- Money is a language every country understands, but 15 years ago David Utrilla saw there was a lot being lost in translation.
The Peruvian immigrant, who was a Weber State University student back in 1995 and living in a small basement apartment here, saw an opportunity to start a translation service that focused on breaking down linguistic barriers in education.
With no more than a desktop computer and the knowledge that he could fill a need, he began U.S. Translation Co. And while that name might have overstated the single-handed effort then, it's one that his business fully inhabits today.
His clients now number 600, speaking 108 languages, and the company is coming off a year in 2009 that saw a doubling of its business. Most of the U.S. companies that are now his clients signed up, Utrilla said, because they "were struggling in the U.S. market, so they started to see the international market as potential to keep their companies alive and to grow."
That was the case of the company that turned out to be his first big break in 1997, JBT AeroTech, which builds mobile airline passenger exit tunnels used around the world and also provides critical de-icing equipment. Their need was worldwide and year-round as a company that serves both northern and southern hemispheres.
About 40 percent of Utrilla's clients are Utah businesses, and they are at home anywhere in the world. The company is banking on the fact that, in surveys of foreign customers, 61 percent responded that they would be reluctant to purchase a product on the Internet that is either not in their language or, worse, poorly translated.
Business leaders and government officials, from governors to President Barack Obama, are looking down the barrel of an ever-increasing trade deficit and see a marked increase in U.S. facility with language as key to avoiding a double-dip recession.
World Trade Center Utah President and CEO Lew W. Cramer is convinced that the main path to a healthy U.S. economy, and the world, is through the trails of language blazed by Utrilla's services, noting that before companies can engage in trade they need to be able to engage trade leaders in competent, free-flowing discussions.
"Utah exports translate directly into Utah jobs," Cramer said. "The kind of jobs that are reflected in our exports are the higher-paying jobs in the state."
With 516 million non-English-speaking customers in the digital marketplace, a company has got to have a lot more than hip information technology at its fingertips, he added.
"And," Utrilla said, "every one of them are constantly looking for opportunities to do business with other countries."
November 23 2011
U.S. Translation Company Speaks the Language of World Business
SOUTH OGDEN -- Money is a language every country understands, but 15 years ago David Utrilla saw there was a lot being lost in translation.
The Peruvian immigrant, who was a Weber State University student back in 1995 and living in a small basement apartment here, saw an opportunity to start a translation service that focused on breaking down linguistic barriers in education.
With no more than a desktop computer and the knowledge that he could fill a need, he began U.S. Translation Co. And while that name might have overstated the single-handed effort then, it's one that his business fully inhabits today.
His clients now number 600, speaking 108 languages, and the company is coming off a year in 2009 that saw a doubling of its business. Most of the U.S. companies that are now his clients signed up, Utrilla said, because they "were struggling in the U.S. market, so they started to see the international market as potential to keep their companies alive and to grow."
That was the case of the company that turned out to be his first big break in 1997, JBT AeroTech, which builds mobile airline passenger exit tunnels used around the world and also provides critical de-icing equipment. Their need was worldwide and year-round as a company that serves both northern and southern hemispheres.
About 40 percent of Utrilla's clients are Utah businesses, and they are at home anywhere in the world. The company is banking on the fact that, in surveys of foreign customers, 61 percent responded that they would be reluctant to purchase a product on the Internet that is either not in their language or, worse, poorly translated.
Business leaders and government officials, from governors to President Barack Obama, are looking down the barrel of an ever-increasing trade deficit and see a marked increase in U.S. facility with language as key to avoiding a double-dip recession.
World Trade Center Utah President and CEO Lew W. Cramer is convinced that the main path to a healthy U.S. economy, and the world, is through the trails of language blazed by Utrilla's services, noting that before companies can engage in trade they need to be able to engage trade leaders in competent, free-flowing discussions.
"Utah exports translate directly into Utah jobs," Cramer said. "The kind of jobs that are reflected in our exports are the higher-paying jobs in the state."
With 516 million non-English-speaking customers in the digital marketplace, a company has got to have a lot more than hip information technology at its fingertips, he added.
"And," Utrilla said, "every one of them are constantly looking for opportunities to do business with other countries."
