For a translation of 100,000 words, one word is all it takes

The biggest challenge in translation? ‘Ensuring quality,’ says Hetty Gerretzen, Office Assistant at VMI Group. ‘And that's also the hardest thing to check. I don't speak Chinese, Polish, Hungarian or Portuguese. We need professionals for the technical translations. Etteplan's translators have a technical background and affinity with the specific field in which VMI Group is active, and they are all native speakers. The translators work in their home countries and therefore have the best sense of the local language and culture. As a result, VMI Group can always rely on the best translations for all our clients, worldwide.’

Protecting intellectual property

There is also another aspect to this trusting relationship. VMI develops innovative production machines for the tyre, rubber, canning, pharmaceutical and personal care industries. ‘We operate in a competitive international market in which protecting our IP (Intellectual Property) is incredibly important,’ explains Hetty Gerretzen. ‘This is why it's crucial that we communicate with Etteplan in a secure environment when it comes to translating documents about our innovative machines.’ ‘Etteplan TRANSLATE, Etteplan's translation management system, is an additional reason for customers to partner with us,’ adds Jos de Ruyter, Area Manager at Etteplan. ‘The entire translation process is Lean, making it simpler, more efficient and more secure for the customer. It saves time and money, and with Etteplan TRANSLATE the customer is kept continuously up to date on the status of each translation project. This Lean approach reduces internal costs and enables us to offer competitive rates. Moreover, Etteplan TRANSLATE features a secure portal with a customer-specific login for easy file uploading and downloading.’

‘The technical documentation and manuals for the machines are extensive,’ says Hetty Gerretzen. ‘To ensure the quality of the technical translations, developing a relationship with the translation agency is very important. We have a single point of contact at Etteplan who knows exactly what's important to us and which technical translator they can assign to us in a country. Through this approach, Etteplan works with us to build up a translation memory – a database specific to VMI in which previously translated words and phrases are automatically looked up and reused. This saves time and money, while it also improves the consistency of our communications. Our goal is uniformity and accuracy, down to the smallest detail.’

Different area of expertise

‘In addition to technical translations, commercial translations are also made for VMI, such as marketing communications and business plans. Technical translation is really a completely different area of expertise,’ Hetty continues. ‘There’s a big difference between writing about a machine and actually describing the machine. Etteplan is specialised in technical translation and plays an important role in the process of conveying technical information. The technical translations of the documents and manuals for VMI Group are a key element in the overall development process of our innovative machines. The lines of communication with Etteplan are short, and their people are always reachable, work with us to find the best solutions or are even a step ahead of us. Sometimes we have entire volumes to be translated and sometimes it's just a few sentences or words. But even when it comes to a technical translation of 100,000 words, for Etteplan, one word is all it takes.’