The Diverse Translation Needs Of The Manufacturing Sector

It is hard to overstate how multifaceted the manufacturing sector is and how many different products it creates. As the sector itself is so incredibly diverse and connects stakeholders in each and every country of the world, it is not surprising that manufacturing businesses have an extremely broad and varied spectrum of translation needs. This article will briefly illustrate how localisation agencies help manufacturing enterprises operate globally and why agencies must have a highly comprehensive service portfolio to really accommodate the complex needs of the manufacturing sector.

Diversity of text subject areas

As the manufacturing sector is so incredibly complex, it is absolutely impossible that even the most talented and experienced linguist in the world could cover all translation needs of a manufacturing business. For professional linguists, it is normal to specialise in only a few areas that they truly master to ensure highest quality standards.

For example, to accurately translate usage instructions that guarantee the safe and effective operation of machinery in factories, linguists who specialise in engineering are the right choice. Their services are also indispensable for translations of technology related e-learning programs for staff training and apps & software, instruction manuals for end users, etc.

Legal translators are equally important for the manufacturing sector. As mistakes in legal translations can have severe consequences, texts such as business contracts, warranties, import/export documentation, licenses, any legal documents for FDI, etc., require the expertise of translators who specialise in law and truly understand the meaning of the relevant terminology.

Also professional linguists who focus on advertising and marketing translation are indispensable for manufacturing businesses. With their expertise and eloquence, they will find the right tone and create compelling translations of slogans, leaflets, brochures, clips, etc. that really do the trick in foreign markets.

All this illustrates that only a localisation agency that has expert linguists in many different areas, including engineering, law, PR and advertising, etc., is truly capable of handling the diverse translation needs of manufacturing businesses. However, the agency service portfolio should not only be extensive in terms of text subject areas, but also in terms of languages, as we will illustrate below.

Multilingual translation needs

As supply chains, production sites and markets of big players in the manufacturing industry are all spread globally, it is clear that translation needs exist for a multitude of languages. As new trade agreements are sealed, emerging economies develop into high potential markets and new factories are built abroad, e.g. when production sites are set up in Asia, language needs change very dynamically. For example, at the moment there is a particularly strong demand for translations into languages of the ASEAN countries among manufacturing companies that relocate production lines there and also make use of the region’s increased purchasing power.

This dynamic development also means that translation combinations that did not play a significant role in the past, such as Chinese – Portuguese, Japanese – Khmer or Vietnamese – Korean,are now in high demand among manufacturing businesses.

More than solely translation

Many of the texts that are translated for the manufacturing sector require more than purely linguistic expertise. For example, desktop publishing (DTP) services can be essential for many types of documents (e.g. DTP for marketing collateral or DTP for engineering documents). Some translated texts will also be used as multimedia content, which often requires the input of IT engineers who are experienced with multilingual content. Also services such as interpretation, technical writing or transcreation can be vital for the successful operations of manufacturing enterprises. However, as soon as the workload is entrusted to more than one service provider, problems are very likely to come up (for example, find out here why DTP and translation should always be done under one roof, or read here which tools a quality localisation service agency can use to ensure consistent terminology).

One-stop localisation service providers as the ideal solution

A localisation agency with an extensive service portfolio that does not only cover many languages and text subject areas, but also offers additional text-related services under the same roof, is the perfect choice for manufacturing businesses. Using an experienced manufacturing translation services provider will ultimately prove indispensible to ensure high quality and, consequently, successful international operations.

elionetwork is a reliable one-stop solution provider for many big players of the manufacturing sector. With our extensive portfolio that includes more than 55 languages, specialised translators in many industries and a wide range of supplementary services, we have earned our reputation as true localisation experts over the last two decades. Please contact us now to let us know your localisation needs!