Manufacturing and the Translation Industry

By Sarah-Claire Jordan

Possibly the only thing you can think of that links manufacturing with translation is the variety of languages the instructions for some products are written in. This is a highly globalized world that we live in right now, however, so get ready to see a lot less of that and a lot more of things like manufacturing companies’ websites translated into a variety of languages. Certain companies are leading the way, like some auto manufacturing companies in China.

Beyond the translation aspect of marketing your manufactured product, you also have to think about whether or not it is worth it to manufacture your product in the country you wish to focus on. This is not always the best choice, it truly depends on the target market, the product, and many other factors. If it becomes evident that it is a good idea to manufacture in the target market’s country, then take a hint from how BMW is handling manufacturing in China.

BMW has an excellent methodology going on for how to deal with localization in the best way possible. They studied marketing reports and found that China was one of their most popular countries in terms of sales, and then from there set up manufacturing facilities there. Of course, they made sure to be well-versed in manufacturing and environmental policies in China before doing so. China is very dedicated to cutting down its environmental impact, and BMW saw that and used it to their advantage by creating new car models with an environmental twist.

BMW is obviously not a Chinese company, however, and so a lot of translation and interpretation work was necessary in order to understand how the manufacturing policies in China work, and what needed to be modified in order for the BMW way of doing things to work in China. This is a huge opportunity for translators who specialize in technical or manufacturing translation, as they can help to establish a clear understanding between two parties from completely different backgrounds who want to do business together in the manufacturing sector.

Translation and interpretation services don’t stop being important in the planning process, however. Policies change, and economic conditions fluctuate, so the liaisons between the country where a manufacturing company has set up shop and the country where the company’s headquarters is need to be in constant communication. This means a steady stream of documents, contracts, blueprints, and any other text will be available for translators to have their way with if they jump on the opportunity in time.

The final step with translation localization is to make sure the website of the manufacturing company is translated accurately into the target languages. This goes along with any other modifications like making sure the layout makes sense for the target culture and that the language used is appropriate and relevant. The future is in localization and globalization, which sounds contradictory, but they can be done at the same time, and manufacturing translation is a perfect example of this.

For an overview of Alpha Omega Translations’ expertise, visit our technical translation service page.

Tags: chinese, document translation

Category: Business Translation