Enta Group - Drive of the Dragon Carp

A magnificent Taiwanese pagoda in the West Midlands is headquarters to one of the UK's fastest growing and most dynamic Information Technology companies. Enta Group has been based in Telford since 1990 when the company employed just three people in the garage of its owner, Jason Tsai. Today, it has a turnover in excess of $100 million and employs 150.

Location has been a key factor in Enta's phenomenal success. It is no accident that Telford has one of the highest concentrations of Taiwanese and Japanese manufacturing facilities anywhere in the UK. "Real estate and employment costs are considerably lower here than in the South East of England where many IT distribution companies are based," says Group Marketing and e-Business Manager, Sharon Hutchinson. "Being located at the commercial centre of the UK, we are better placed to service customers in the Midlands, the North and Scotland and can provide more cost-effective delivery and fulfilment."

Jason Tsai received comprehensive support when he first began searching for business premises. "Local government helped me with everything from finding land to getting a grant of £330,000 from selective regional assistance*," he told The Financial Times newspaper. Telford has attracted over £2 billion of investment and 1,500 new companies in the last 20 years and consistently appears as one of the most cost-effective locations for inward investors in Europe. "Housing in and around Telford is affordable and plentiful, and we have the beautiful county of Shropshire on our doorstep, including Ironbridge which is a UNESCO World Heritage site," adds Sharon. Jason and his family had only intended to stay in the region for a short time when they first set up the company. But 18 years later, having fallen in love with the people and the place, they are still here and business is better than ever.

Enta Group now comprises five highly successful companies. Enta Technologies is a leading computer hardware and software distributor and one of only a handful of authorised distributors of Microsoft¨ OEM products in the UK. Internet Service Provider, Entanet consistently ranks as the fastest business internet service in independent tests conducted by leading IT publications. Enta Online is a 24/7 e-commerce site for registered Enta customers. The group also features Entacall, a telecommunications specialist offering lower cost calls to resellers and pre-paid telephone cards to foreign students, and EntaMedia, a new media service provider which specialises in web design, corporate id and marketing. Enta group offers total ICT solutions to local government, local education authorities, schools and corporate companies.

Despite its exponential growth, Enta remains a family company with a successful mix of Taiwanese and British values. Its distinctive 90,000 square foot pagoda office, just 10 minutes off the M54 motorway, is surrounded by wooden bridges, waterfalls and a lake filled with 360 koi carp, imported from Japan and Israel. The koi are more than just a decorative feature, as Jason explains:

"In the legend of the Dragon Carp, 360 carp swam up a river but, on reaching the Dragon's Gate, only one was able to swim over to the other side. The legend teaches us that only the fittest and the strongest can achieve the highest goals. To succeed, we believe that we must not only excel, we must be the very best."

Interview given by Jason Tsai, owner.

For more information about Enta visit www.entagroup.com.

* selective regional assistance grants are no longer available in Telford.