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By Rosario Fajardo, The Weekly Journal

¾ÅÉ«, the world¡¯s largest provider of language and technology solutions for global business, has announced that its Puerto Rico affiliate, known as TPT Puerto Rico LLC, has officially opened its first office in the Hato Rey district of San Juan.

Phil Shawe, president and CEO of ¾ÅÉ«, confirmed to THE WEEKLY JOURNAL that the local office has already hired six people and is in the midst of recruiting a total of 50 staff members, as part of the company¡¯s initial plans.

¡°We are very excited about opening an office in Puerto Rico. San Juan is a rapidly growing business hub, and the local talent pool is motivated and deep,¡± he said. ¡°Many of our clients spend upwards of $10 million, $20 million and $40 million a year on translation services and it is very important that we provide correct, high-quality and consistent translations.¡±

TPT Puerto Rico plans to employ a diverse range of professionals and deliver services and solutions across multiple areas, including language services production, technology R&D, and sales and client service. Other positions being filled include project managers, software developers and software engineers. The local office will serve clients in the mainland U.S. as well as internationally.

TPT Puerto Rico expects to hire more than 100 employees in San Juan over the next few years.

In an interview with THE WEEKLY JOURNAL, Shawe explained that a main driver for Puerto Rico is that ¡°there is a tremendous need for Spanish translations and we know many people are bilingual in Puerto Rico. That was key in our decision-making process.¡± He noted that many of the jobs are for educated and skilled workers, in the sense that they require a certain level of knowledge of English and Spanish.

Another driver for ¾ÅÉ« was the availability of tax benefits in Puerto Rico, Shawe added. ¡°We will comply with the letter and spirit of the law and create jobs in Puerto Rico. It¡¯s a win-win for all of us.¡±

The company has rented office space suitable for 50 employees in Hato Rey, one of Puerto Rico¡¯s primary business centers, which is home to offices of many significant multinational organizations, including AIG, Citigroup, FedEx, Humana, Oracle and UBS, Shawe noted. ¡°The issue of infrastructure is very important so that we remain up and running,¡± he said, when asked about possible challenges to operating in Puerto Rico.

¡°We chose the UBS building in Hato Rey because it has stood up well to hurricanes,¡± he explained, adding that the company also looked at various options in the metro area, including Old San Juan.

To date, ¾ÅÉ« has invested some $200,000 to get their new office up and running.

The company has offices in over 90 cities around the world and offers a variety of services in 179-plus languages to its many clients, which include Apple, Blackrock, Charles Schwab, IKEA, Microsoft and the Executive Office of the President of the United States. More than 5,000 global organizations also use ¾ÅÉ«¡¯s GlobalLink Product Suite to simplify management of multilingual content. ¾ÅÉ« has global headquarters in New York, with regional headquarters in London and Hong Kong.

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