Welocalize and Connect Announce Merger
Merger creates innovative mid-tier leader with five offices in four countries.Frederick, MD and Dublin, Ireland: Jan. 16 -- Two leading providers of localization, translation and software testing services Welocalize, Inc. and Connect Global Solutions, LTD today announced the completion of their merger. The merger combines two vertically-focused localization organizations into a single company with an innovative Professional Services delivery model. The combined company will operate under the Welocalize name.
Mid-tier Leadership
The merger of Welocalize and Connect marks a major milestone in the rapidly evolving mid-tier of the globalization services industry. Steady consolidation in the industry since the late 1990s has left the mid-tier of the industry largely vacant. This merger creates a reliable, stable alternative for companies looking for a mid-sized partner offering vertical specific expertise, global reach, scalability and personalized attention.
Focus on Select Verticals
Both companies have been pioneers in adopting a vertically-focused professional services firm delivery model. Most of the translation industry is organized around a distinct department that sells services with a separate delivery department. Sales and production are distinct groups within the company, and their cooperation is typically linear in nature, with sales starting and production finishing the process. Welocalize has taken a different approach in order to create greater efficiency and attention to client's unique needs. The company is organized instead around client teams that are lead by practice managers in each of the company's focus verticals. Sales and production combine to form a unified and focused team, one that delivers added value in the form of responsiveness and specific, customized service to select industries.
Welocalize focuses on delivering services to the Security, Storage, eLearning, Supply Chain Management, Life Sciences and Telecommunication industries.
"Eugene and I have spent the last 15 months analyzing the merits of this merger from every perspective," said Smith Yewell, Welocalize Chief Executive Officer. "It is with great care and attention to our client's and employee's needs that we have decided to merge."
"Both companies are passionate about delivering high quality localization services to our clients. We have built a combined company with amazing potential, and we believe we offer something new and fresh with an organization that is smart, innovative and bursting with ideas," said Eugene McGinty, Connect Chief Executive Officer. "Given the alignment of our visions, technologies, and overall strategies, the combination of our two companies will be highly beneficial to our customers worldwide."
The combined companies will operate under the Welocalize name and brand with corporate headquarters located in Frederick, MD. Operations will continue in Connect's facilities in Dublin, Ireland. Smith Yewell will continue to serve as President and CEO. Eugene McGinty will continue to lead the office in Ireland as its Managing Director.
Complementary Strengths and Synergies
The merger of Welocalize and Connect unites two innovators servicing software and hardware companies in a highly complementary combination when viewed from all angles.
- Stability: Existing Client Teams to remain in place
- Increased Scale: Over $20M in Combined Annual Revenue enabling greater investment for innovation and support
- Increased Depth: Over 100 Dedicated Employees Worldwide
- Global Reach: 5 Offices in 4 Countries (USA, Ireland, Germany, Japan)
- Outstanding Service: A world-class service organization benefiting from the best-practices and infrastructure investments of both companies
- Unique Model: Vertically Focused Professional Services Firm
About Welocalize Our services fulfill the translation, engineering, testing and cultural needs inherent in releasing products globally. We enable our clients to meet these challenges and achieve fluid international product development and faster global release cycles without increasing international development costs.
Welocalize provides localization, testing and translation services to leading companies including AOL, Apple, Cisco Systems, Computer Associates, IBM, Sun, Symantec and Xerox. The company maintains offices in Frederick, MD, Portland, OR, Dublin, Ireland, Wakayama, Japan and Saarbrücken, Germany. Please visit www.welocalize.com for more information.
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