First Minister welcomes PDMS to Scotland

The Isle of Man’s largest ICT company, PDMS, launched their new Glasgow office on 1^st April. First Minister, Alex Salmond said, “I am delighted to welcome PDMS to Scotland - a company that comes to us highly recommended by the Isle of Man Government, with an excellent reputation for innovation and enterprise ICT.”

PDMS have specialised in developing online business systems and software solutions for over 20 years and boast clients such as Centrica, Black and Decker, West Midlands police and Calmac ferries. Their expansion into Scotland has therefore been welcomed by the First Minister and helped by significant funding from Scottish Enterprise.

“With £160,000 of support and assistance from Scottish Enterprise, PDMS have invested in Scotland to grow their business globally to further develop and support PDMS’ software development and managed services business,” said Salmond.

David Stickland, sales director of PDMS, expressed how pleased he was that PDMS had finally arrived in Scotland and thanked the efforts of Scottish Enterprise.

Stickland said, “It’s finally great to say that PDMS has arrived in Scotland. There is a fantastic synergy between the Isle of Man and Scotland in regards to the level of support given to local and new businesses.”

Chris Gledhill, PDMS managing director, said it was very important for PDMS to be close to their customers in order to fully engage with the community in which they work.

“We are committed to creating secure high quality jobs and high standards of training. We are absolutely overwhelmed by the welcome we have received in Scotland. I am convinced that by building up our services here we can make a genuine contribution to development of the ICT sector as a driver for growth and prosperity,” Gledhill said.

Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, Allan Bell, praised PDMS’ commitment to innovation and business, and made special mention of PDMS’ employability platform, Employed Scotland. The platform (www.employed.im) is currently the Isle of Man’s go-to resource for education, careers and training opportunities and is helping the Island’s community address employability issues.

“PDMS have come of age this year – 21 years old! They are now over 60 staff members strong and are the number one ICT provider on the Isle of Man, working closely with local government. The employment platform that PDMS have developed has greatly helped the Isle of Man’s employment figures and will undoubtedly help Glasgow in the future.”

Angela Constance, Minister for Youth Employment, praised the announcement of PDMS growth into Scotland, paying particular attention to the new jobs.

“Scotland, despite having 8% of UK’s population attracts over 16% inward investment; this launch highlights that ability to attract inward investment. The ITC and Digital Tech sector contribute over 3 billion pounds to the economy and create 75,000 jobs in Glasgow and the West of Scotland.”

PDMS have made a significant contribution to the growth of the ICT sector on the Isle of Man over the past 21 years and as a key technology partner, have been working closely with the Isle of Man Government to innovate and drive efficiency savings through the delivery of online services.

Alex Salmond, First Minister said, “As a company committed to exporting products and services around the world, they are exactly the type of business we welcome to Scotland. I would like to thank them for their determination to make a significant contribution to the Scottish ICT sector and wish them all the best in their endeavours.”