Dutch market leader in interpretation services on international takeover path with new name

Hengelo, 1 July 2020 – The Dutch market leader in interpretation services opts for international expansion with a name change and its first international takeover. Under the new name Global Talk, the forty-four-year-old Dutch company recently became active in Belgium and Sweden. It acquired the Swedish interpreters agency Tolkresurs, which will also go by the name Global Talk as of today.

Global Talk—which until recently operated under the name TVCN (Tolk- en Vertaalcentrum Nederland) in the Netherlands—has a yearly turnover of more than €30 million, putting it in fortieth place in the 2020 Nimdzi Top 100 ranking. This is a ranking of the top 100 language service providers by revenue worldwide. In 2019, Global Talk was one of the fastest-growing Language Service Providers in the world. The interpreting agency was started as a foundation by the Dutch government and was acquired by ManpowerGroup in 2006. It has been in the hands of Dutch investment company Opportunity Partners since January 2019.

"With this new owner and a new name, we are embarking on a path of international growth, and investing more in technology that is becoming increasingly important in our industry," says Astrid van Rossum, General Manager of Global Talk. "At the same time, we will invest in further developing and specializing our professional interpreters, whose role we believe is indispensable in the often complex situations which require the navigation of both linguistic and cultural nuances.

In the Netherlands, Global Talk is known for the state of the art platform with which client and interpreter can find each other and work together quickly and easily. The service puts clients in touch with the right interpreter within a minute. Global Talk stands for talking to each other worldwide and understanding each other in every language ​​of the world. Our motto is "understanding is everything".

Through Global Talk, interpreters and cultural experts work on location, by video or telephone. They are used in the public sector such as for municipalities, ministries, investigative services (e.g. police), hospitals and the justice department, as well as at companies and international conferences.

Customised services

Van Rossum on the strength of the size of Global Talk: "The Language Service Industry has a few huge, global players and a lot of small, local players. We are medium-sized. Big enough to innovate and invest in new technology and small enough to offer specialised, custom services to both local and international clients."

Examples of customised services are the apps that Global Talk has developed together with clients in different countries. The Ambulance Interpreting app, for example, enables ambulance staff to contact an interpreter within 1 minute at the touch of a button, without the intervention of a call centre. Another app helps customs officials conduct intake interviews with refugees. The app provides customs officers with more than 50 questions that are often asked during an intake interview. The questions are available in 10 languages.

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Note for the editor, not for publication:

For more information, please contact Astrid van Rossum, General Manager, astrid.van.rossum@globaltalk.nl or + 31 6 30 14 83 52.

About Global Talk

With 44 years of experience and over 4000 interpreters and translators in 200 languages, Global Talk provides interpretation services to every sector. The company enables people to understand each other and bridge language and cultural differences. It uses the latest technology where possible, and deploys specialists where necessary— be it an interpreter in education, at a municipal desk, at a hospital or for an interrogation. Global Talk's fastest service ensures that an interpreter is on the line, ready to interpret immediately within a minute, 24/7. All interpreters and translators are extensively screened and have considerable experience in their field. www.globaltalk.eu