Texts firm HSL to triple its workforce

A SCOTTISH technology firm that lists airport operator BAA and delivery firm DHL among its clients has unveiled plans to triple its headcount to 50.

Livingston-based HSL, which allows companies to send and handle large numbers of text messages, has taken on a new head of sales to grow turnover by 30 per cent to more than £5 million in the next year.

The firm – which is targeting growth in the UK, Germany and the Middle East – is also opening a research and development centre in Edinburgh.

The R&D base will immediately double HSL’s headcount to 30 and will enable the firm to develop more of its own software.

The other jobs will come from expanding its sales and support teams.

As well as serving about 450 corporate clients, HSL runs a tsunami warning system for a mining company in Indonesia and an alert service for the Dartmoor search and rescue team. Both systems use text messages, also known as short message service (SMS).

HSL managing director Mark Hay said: “SMS is unique in that it’s immediate. If a member of staff or a customer gets a text message, then they’re likely to look at it straight away – if you send an e-mail then you have to wait for them to log on to the internet.

“All mobile phones can receive SMS, but only about one-third of mobiles in the UK are smartphones, so not all of them can receive Twitter or e-mails.”

Hay highlighted the rise in usage of his services last winter when companies used SMS to tell staff about office closures.

The Scottish Government will tomorrow launch its “Get Ready For Winter” campaign, which is encouraging companies to have plans in place if a third winter of heavy snow engulfs Scotland.

Hay said: “Nurseries and schools are very mature in their use of SMS. They’re already set up to send out messages about closures. But companies haven’t embraced that technology yet, so there are opportunities for us there.

“We definitely see spikes in demand for our services when the weather is bad.”