Enterprising Glasgow

If Mark Antliff has made progress on the road to success that's because the route has been mapped out for him.

The 36-year-old technical wizard is managing director of TotalPDA Ltd, the Glasgow-based company which is blazing a trail in the booming field of satellite navigation systems.

Businesses are realising that they can save time and money by equipping their out-of-office employees with the means to find that tricky address. It makes it so much harder for the white van driver to claim that he couldn’t find a customer – Mark Antliff’s systems can even tell the van owner where it had been for the weekend!

And other devices enable the owner to download and send emails without the need to return to their office.

"The strides that have been made in this field in the last few years have been amazing,” said Mark, a self-confessed tech head.

"It’s now possible to have your average mobile phone fitted with software that can give you voice-guided instructions down every street in Britain.

"Fitted to the dashboard of a sales rep¹s car, this becomes an invaluable business tool, capable of guiding the driver to their exact location."

"Our systems allow people to keep in touch with their office, retrieve email on the move and navigate their way easily to their next appointment."

It employs 33 people at its base in Glasgow’s Cardonald Business Park. This location provides excellent links to central Scotland’s motorway network and is only 10 minutes away by car from Glasgow Airport.

TotalPDA's excellence has recently been recognised through a string of awards from respected British institutions. Last Autumn, TotalPDA was named the fourth fastest-growing technology business in Britain by The Sunday Times. It also ranked as the number one business in Scotland in the newspaper’s ‘Fast Track 100’ list. Then, in November, Mark Antliff was named ‘Rising Star’ at the Deloitte Fast 50 awards in Edinburgh.

Even when he worked part-time for the Clydesdale electrical chain, young Mark was hitting 400 per cent of his sales targets. And needless to say, for a man who is now making his money from electronic route mapping, Mark’s business career began with a journey.

Before establishing TotalPDA, Mark set off on a round-the-world trip, which took in such exotic locations as Las Vegas, Australia, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Thailand.

He said: "We are absolutely dedicated to finding the right mobile communications solution for our clients.

"Organisations and businesses have so many people out of the office at any one time that it is very difficult to retain them as an effective part of the team.

"Our systems allow people to keep in touch with their office, retrieve email on the move and navigate their way easily to their next appointment."

TotalPDA has established an impeccable reputation in the last few years, re-selling and distributing mobile communications devices and Portable Satellite Navigation systems throughout the UK.