Keith Blair Ltd

Keith Blair Ltd, manufacturers’ agents based in Uttoxeter, represent companies from Italy and Germany, selling their products mainly within the UK.

With a staff of only four and eleven companies (ten Italian and one German) to represent, it is not difficult to see why language skills are so important to their day-to-day operations. Typically, Keith Blair Ltd will offer suppliers and clients technical translations of catalogues and general product and corporate documentation.

They issue quotations, negotiate specifications, organise transport and payment terms, and market the finished product. All of these demand a good working level of the languages used to get best results in the target market. Although most of the products are sold in the UK, Keith Blair Ltd also sell to customers in Australia, New Zealand, Holland, France, the USA and Ireland.

Initially they did come across some resistance to buying Italian products from a company based in the UK, but that has now been overcome. The company relies on good communication with suppliers and clients, making full use of the language skills present.

Keith Blair, who runs the company, says they can communicate in German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian and believes that language skills have helped his company’s credibility with suppliers. He states:

“We can sometimes help them communicate with their customers, even in markets with which we are not directly involved. They do not expect this from Brits, with our famous inability to speak foreign tongues.”

Keith believes being able to speak in and understand the mother tongue of his suppliers has helped tremendously when defusing friction between seller and buyer, and in building trust between agent and manufacturer:

“Our relations with our colleagues in Italy and Germany benefit greatly from our ability to speak the relevant languages. Without this, our job would be more difficult, and far less satisfying”.

 

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