The language services provider Kern is celebrating its 45-year anniversary this year. The family business was founded in 1969 by Manfred and Birte Kern in Frankfurt am Main, where its headquarters are still based today. As well as this, the language services provider is currently represented by independent branches at more than 50 locations worldwide. On the occasion of its anniversary, the provider of translations, interpreting and language training intends to open further branches both in Germany and abroad.
Frankfurt am Main. For 45 years, Kern Global Language Services, together with its customers from all branches, has been growing with the challenge of internationalisation. Whereas the key business activities in the early 1970s were foreign language print products and translation, Kern Global Language Services today provides a complete service for technical translations, interpreting, language training, terminology and translation memory management, localisation of software and websites as well as multilingual desktop publishing and consultation and training in these areas. In 2013, technical translators and interpreters within the Kern network translated the largest number of words in the company’s history (more than 280 million single words).
45 years of translating and interpreting
Kern Global Language Services’ company history began with the vision of facilitating the exchange of expertise and supporting companies with the international sale of their products and services. Manfred Kern and Birte Kern founded Kern GmbH in 1969 in Frankfurt am Main. Since the demand for translations in the context of the European integration process was becoming increasingly stronger, they opened the first German branch around ten years later in 1980 in Düsseldorf. The first international subsidiary was founded shortly after in 1983 in Paris. Further foreign subsidiaries followed in Amsterdam, Hong Kong, London, Lyon, New York, San Francisco, Salzburg and Vienna. In this way, the translation services provider is also able to quickly process orders at short notice across several time zones.
In 1997, Kern GmbH became Kern Global Language Services. Through intensive collaboration with providers of translation technology and self-developed, customer-specific translation and terminology management portals, Kern Global Language Services is continuing to expand its technical progress.
45 years of language training for professional and managerial staff
The Institute for Creative Learning was integrated into the company group in 2005 and emerged as the present Kern Training. Since then, it has been advising customers from all branches about multilingualism in human resources development and guarantees the same quality standards for its language and business training at more than 40 locations across Germany. The company group employs a total of 190 permanent employees and is currently managed, together with the founders, in the second generation by Dr Thomas Kern and Michael Kern as a family business.
About Kern Global Language Services
Kern Global Language Services, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, is a leading language services provider in the area of international communication with more than 50 branches in Germany, Austria, France, the UK, the Netherlands, the USA and China. Kern’s services include translation and interpreting in all world languages, software and website localisation, terminology and translation memory management, desktop publishing as well as language training. Since it was founded in 1969, Kern Global Language Services has been looking after a growing international customer base from the industrial and business community. Moreover, government bodies, internationally active organisations and law firms, etc. trust the professional language services that Kern provides. Kern Global Language Services is 100% family-owned.
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