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BBC School Report
Graham Technology
In school Mr Graham didn’t do very well. While at school Mr Graham was working as a part time woodcutter at the age of 14-15. His mother wanted him to stay in school and to become a doctor but Mr Graham wanted to set up his own business. At the age of 16 he left school and began to work on a large salmon boat. His ambition was to become an engineer like his father who was a marine engineer.
After salmon fishing he started in university to study production engineering. This was very useful in computer technology.
He managed to get a good apprentice with Rolls Royce building aircraft engines manually and then gradually got more technical.
He then joined the lex service group which had the best reputation for training. While he was there he was one of the top 10 apprentices. This company had a great pay and he also had a good company car. Mr Graham worked in the car industry up to his mid 30’s including car sales man.
At the age of 35-36 he got a job with ICL Calibration Laboratories which is a computer company. His engineering skills came in very useful in getting this job.
Mr Graham quoted, ‘In business there are a lot of ups and downs and there’s no smooth ride and you get no support from the Scottish Executive’.
Mr Graham thinks that the best thing about computer technology is that it’s opened up communication more (easier to get hold of someone). He also thinks that it’s great how the computer does work that no one wants to do. He said “the worst thing about it is how people abuse the system by playing games etc…”
Mr Iain Graham and his wife Sheena founded the computer technology company `Graham Technology’ in 1986.
They started off this world wide business from the spare room of their Glasgow flat. Now the business is worth over £31 million and his business is the 96 richest in the whole of Scotland.
He has now got seven offices around the globe but his main office is in Glasgow. He has got an office in: Scotland, Ireland, France, Hong Kong, Netherlands, America and Indonesia. In all of these offices he’s got over two Hundred employees all together.
In 2004 Mr Iain Graham won the entrepreneur of the year award. He also won the Technology and communication award the same year.
A few years ago Graham Technology restored and put an extension on the old India tyre Factory witch was originally built in 1930. This all cost over 7m to do and the building is now worth over 20 million.
Graham Technology is the fastest growing Technology Company in the whole of Britain and will probably keep on growing for a long time.
By Fraser and Allan S2x
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