In 2013, we had a meeting with representatives of Adam Smith Conferences’ UK office, who asked us to provide interpreters for several conferences. The client was pleasantly surprised by the quality of our work. Shortly after, Russian Translation Company would be organizing simultaneous interpretation at all events held by Adam Smith Conferences in Moscow and Kyiv.
Adam Smith Conferences is renowned for its wide range of industry-specific conferences that bring together businesses and government officials (even heads of government). Topics include:
· the power sector
· pharmaceuticals
· banking
· corporate and personal finance
· anti-aging medicine
· the automotive sector
· agriculture
· metals
· mining
For this reason, we engaged different teams of interpreters based on their area of specialization. Conferences held in Moscow usually required Russian<>English interpretation, while those in Kyiv used Ukrainian<>English interpreters. Other languages were occasionally requested, including French, German, and Portuguese. Once we were even asked to organize Russian<>English interpretation in Vienna, Austria.
Adam Smith Conferences has been organizing events since 1992. The company headquarters used to be in the UK, but later were moved to Kazakhstan. Before 2022, Adam Smith Conferences had held events in Russia.
A Blessing in Disguise
We had been thinking of adding conference equipment rental to our list of services since 2010. But we only decided to act when we started working with Adam Smith Conferences. Multiple events held in the same rooms and a client ready to give it a try — the moment seemed perfect. We calculated that we would recoup the investment in about a year, so we took out a bank loan and purchased the best conference equipment money could buy.
RPK was assigned to two pilot events in early 2014, where we supplied technical support in the form of simultaneous interpretation equipment, sound and video equipment, and banner installation. We also provided engineers and English-speaking assistants for the panellists. The events went off without a hitch, and RPK received nothing but positive feedback from Adam Smith employees and conference participants. They were particularly happy with how meticulous our engineers were: all cables were carefully tucked away in cable trays, and the staff was dressed appropriately, blending in with the participants.
However, this was where our cooperation in technical support... ended. The previous supplier had connections with the hotels hosting the events. This was an important competitive advantage.
Naturally, this was a huge disappointment. Our plan hadn’t worked, and we still had a loan to pay off. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as that very same year, RPK started providing technical support for conferences held by the Council of Europe, the Russia-2018 Organizing Committee and other clients.
Thus, a business miscalculation eventually opened up a new opportunity for us. And we continued to provide interpretation (and sometimes translation services) for Adam Smith Conferences until the company left the Russian market.
A Trusted Supplier
We are masters of the word, after all!