"A World of Translation Work" Celebrates First Birthday

by Lauren Nemec

February 7th marks the 1st anniversary of the first post on "A World of Translation Work". It's been an interesting year, filled with many new faces and exciting changes and projects.

Here are some of the highlights.

In February 2007, we announced Tarah McCarthy as the new Manager of Operations. Tarah has done a wonderful job throughout the past year, keeping a close eye on all projects, raising our quality standards, developing relationships with key customers and polishing up our invoicing procedures.

In March 2007, we announced the opening of our Chicago office by President of the Translatus North American Division, Matthew Miodonski. Matthew and our other Chicago staff have been enjoying the beauty and inspiration of the Michigan Avenue location.

In May 2007, we welcomed Veronika Svobodova to our Chicago office. Veronika had already been working successfully for Translatus for a year as a Project Manager at our Prague office, but she is really thriving in her role as a North American Account Manager, bringing in great new business. One of the blog's most popular posts is Veronika's piece about the culture shock she faced as a Czech moving to the big city.

Also in May 2007, we announced the expansion of our hours of operation. Project managers work from our Prague office between the hours of 9:00 and 22:00 CET, better serving our clients across multiple time zones.

In August 2007, we introduced a new-and-improved version of Translatus.com and also marked the 5-year anniversary of Matthew Miodonski's employment with Translatus.

In September 2007, we proudly announced the opening of Translatus China. Christine Kee currently serves as the Executive Vice President of the Translatus Asia division. Our Beijing office has been very successful in bringing new business from Asian companies and processing jobs. Translatus hopes to open a second office in the region soon.

In November 2007, I mentioned a new service that Translatus offers in a discussion about global brand names - Brand Name Analysis. Translatus launched other new services last year, including Intercultural Training, Expedited Translations, Foreign Market Lead Generation for B2B Services and Informed Advertisement Placement.

The year 2008 already shows promise of being a big year for Translatus. We have many exciting projects in the works and anticipate many significant changes. I look forward to sharing our 2008 news with you!

Some Blog Statistics from the Past Year:
Number of Posts: 90
Number of Authors: 5
Number of Visitors: 3,177 (since June)
Number of Countries Where Visitors Come From: 105
Number of Languages Spoken by Visitors: 47

Top Posts:
Beijing Prepares for 2008 Olympics by Correcting Bad Translations
International Business: Business Card Etiquette
Czech Culture
Cultural Dimensions: Individualism vs. Collectivism
Czech in the Big City
International Business: Dining Etiquette

Global Brand Names - Is Yours Lost in Translation?

by Lauren Nemec

Are you preparing to introduce a new product in a foreign market? Read this first.

Naseem Javed, an expert on Corporate Image and Global Branding, has written an informative and useful article on the subject of global brand names, called "Lost in Global Translation?". In it, he explains the challenges of naming a brand for the global market, focusing on Middle Eastern products branded in Arabic. Here are some interesting points from the article, if you don't have time to read through it.

Who are the leaders in global branding?

According to Javed, Japan laid the groundwork for the systematic naming of global brands. He says, "Decades ahead, Japan was on the forefront of creating global brands, like Toyota, Minolta, Sony, Pentax, Sharp, Panasonic, Canon and hundreds of other five star standard names, as names originating from Japanese language would have never allowed such global acceptance."

What are the components of a good global brand name?

Ideally, the best global brand names are those that adhere to international rules of translation, appeal to the masses, lack negative cultural connotations, and are easy to pronounce, spell and recall. This seems straightforward enough, but is easier said than done, as many global companies could tell you from experience.

Javed's Recommendations

According to Javed, "The best thing [companies can] do is conduct a highly professional third-party nomenclature audit. Check connotations and language issues to find out where the name could be rejected or taken as too confusing and forgettable."

Translatus Brand Name Analysis Services

This subject gives me ample opportunity to introduce a service offered by Translatus.

We understand that a brand is a valuable asset- one which should be evaluated before entering new foreign markets. Therefore, Translatus has designed a "Brand Name Analysis" service, which provide our clients with linguistic and cultural analysis of their brand names, slogans and logos.

Translatus will deliver a detailed, written analysis for each brand name in each target market. The analysis addresses the following issues:

• Prior use of the brand name in the target market
• Similarity of the brand name to other companies, products or services.
• Direct translation or similarity of brand name to existing words in target language.
• Negative cultural connotations or possible offensiveness.
• Unclear use of colloquial language, slang, or idioms in the brand name or slogan.
• Ease of pronunciation and recollection.
  

This global and market-specific analysis of your brands ensures accurate representation of your brand image and company message in your foreign markets. For more information, please visit our website or contact me at lnemec@translatus.com or +420 222 517 153.

Photo courtesy: The Trademark Blog

Translatus at Productronica

by Lauren Nemec

Translatus representatives will be at the Productronica trade fair in Munich, Germany on November 14th and 15th. Productronica is the world's leading trade fair for electronics production.
If you will be attending Productronica and would like to speak with a Translatus representative, please email our Business to Business Services Manager, Joanna Nelson at jnleson @translatus.com to set up a meeting.

We hope to see you there!

Translatus at Biotechnica

by Lauren Nemec

Biotechnica is the largest European trade fair for Biotechnology. Translatus representatives will be at the Biotechnica trade fair in Hannover, Germany on October 9th and 10th.

If you will be attending Biotechnica and would like to speak with a Translatus representative, please email European Account Manager, Nicholas Lobkowicz at nlobkowicz@translatus.com to set up a meeting.

We hope to see you there!

Translatus Opens Office in Beijing

by Lauren Nemec

Translatus is delighted to announce the opening of our first office in China! The new office is located at Room 1403, Tower A, Building 2, Jiulong Garden, Guangqu Road, Chaoyang District, in Beijing. Translatus China operations will be headed by Christine Kee, Executive Vice President, Asia Division.

About Christine Kee

Christine joined Translatus in 2004. Since then, she has been leading and managing Translatus' Sales and Customer Service team in Europe. Christine Kee is a native Chinese speaker who was born in Hong Kong. She graduated with a MA in Applied Translation from the University of Leeds in England. Before joining Translatus, she had over 5 years experience in translation, including freelance translation and interpretation, as well as full-time translation service to the Hong Kong Government. Christine speaks English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

Christine Kee will lead Translatus China.

About Translatus China

There are currently three staff members at Translatus China, and we look forward to welcoming more as we grow in the region. The Translatus China staff speaks Mandarin, Cantonese and English.

Translatus staff in China will concentrate on developing new business relationships with Chinese companies and will ensure our existing customers get the support they need for their communications in the Chinese market.

We will also establish a second operations center for job processing at the Beijing office. The opening of the new operations center brings us closer to our goal of truly becoming a 24-hour service provider. As Translatus expands into other continents, our clients in every time zone will benefit from having multiple centers of operation around the world working together remotely to process jobs more efficiently.

By knowing the market and buying locally, we have a competitive advantage in that we are able to select the best of Chinese translators and interpreters. People buying translations in China often find that they are charged more or given poor quality because they don't speak the language. Translatus believes that speaking the right language is the key to our clients' success. Our Chinese-speaking staff in Beijing is able to obtain first-class translations at the best prices.

“On behalf of my colleagues at Translatus in China, we look forward to helping our clients successfully carry across their message into any language, market or culture." Christine Kee, Executive Vice President, Asia Division.

Translatus Project Managers are World-Class

by Lauren Nemec

I've been spending this week in our Operations Department, lending a helping hand with projects while many of our staff members are on holiday. You know, Translatus really has a world-class team here in our Operations department! I am amazed at the time and energy our Project Managers devote to their work. Managing projects can be a hard job with long hours, enormous pressure and a fair bit of drama. But the Operations team, led by Tarah McCarthy, is always resilient and dependable.

The people here at Translatus are committed to not only providing the best product at competitive prices, but we are passionate about giving our clients the best customer experience. No one achieves this better than our dedicated Project Managers. I am surrounded by talented people, all ready to pitch in with their expertise to ensure that our clients' projects are completed on time, with high quality and exceptional customer service.

Thank you, Ops, and keep up the great work!

Introducing the New Translatus Website

by Lauren Nemec

It gives me great pleasure to announce the launch of a new version of the Translatus website at www.translatus.com. Our website has long been in need of a face-lift and our Web Developer, Craig Clark, did a fantastic job rejuvenating the look of the website and making it easier to navigate. Most importantly, the new Translatus.com incorporates fresh content about our full line of Language Services and Market Entry Solutions.

In the coming weeks, we will be applying these changes to the foreign language versions of our website. We will try to make this process as efficient and transparent as possible.

We welcome your comments and feedback about the new Translatus.com. As always, hank you for your interest and support!

Lauren Nemec

Marketing Manager

lnemec@translatus.com

+420 222 522 650

Marking 5 Years with Translatus

by Matthew Miodonski

Last Wednesday, August 8, 2007, I marked my 5^th year with Translatus Inc. While I hope to raise a glass of something bubbly, be it champagne or beer, this week when I am back in Prague with those I have worked with for much, if not all, of those 5 years, in the meantime I have been reminiscing about different experiences over the past 5 years.

As one more American in Prague looking for a job teaching English, I came across an ad in the now-defunct Prague Pill after 3 fruitless months of unemployment. (Just as, I’m sure, many people in the Northern Hemisphere forget that when it’s winter where they live, it is summer in Southern Hemisphere, I apparently forgot that when it is almost summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is still almost summer when you go to a different part of the Northern Hemisphere. Thus, there was no one to teach.)

My first-ever meeting was with Porsche AG two months after taking the job. Yes, that Porsche. My Sales Director and boss at the time, an Irishman named Mathew (I won’t say “also named …” as his and others’ use of one “t” ruins it for the rest of us) handled most of the meeting, as I trembled only a few feet away. My following two meetings were also stressful, but I was slowly learning.

Marktredwitz, Germany. That is a town I will never forget. You see, after a trip to see Grundig in Nürnberg, I was returning via Germany’s truly excellent rail system, but there was a connection I was supposed to make to get back to Prague the town before Marktredwitz. I slept through it. Although Germany’s rail network is truly wonderful and extensive and clean and reliable, it had one too few trips going from Marktredwitz to Prague that evening—I ended up spending a good part of the afternoon and night stadtbummeln in the small burgh, and I slept on a bench at the train station. I caught the next train to Prague at about 4:30AM in the morning.

They were not all mishaps. Just two months after my meeting with Porsche AG, I met with some very nice women at MAXDATA in Marl, Germany. MAXDATA is still one of our most important clients, and they have been a genuine joy to work with. Though I am not in touch as often as I used to be (or should be) from here in Chicago, while living in Prague I estimate that I visited them at least a dozen times, each time a pleasure.

There was the time my airline went out of business after a 4-hour strike by airport workers in Milan. (As well as the time I met a nice German girl on the resultant 23-hour train back to Prague.) The time I, horrifyingly, thought it would be funny to change the salutation of a new employee’s email to something less-than-flattering thinking she would catch it in time. (She did not catch it—how was she to know her new boss could be so, well, stupid?—but, through some miracle, the recipient did not even notice. That (forgiving) employee has since become our most productive sales person in the relatively short, but memorable, history of the company.

There was the old one-room office where a young sales team (I was one of two original members of said team) slowly grew … as the rest of the office heard them grow with telephone sales blunders: “Do you speak English? [Person on the other end apparently answers in the affirmative] Great! So do I!!” There were lean times as the company experienced what many start-ups endure. There were triumphant times as we stabilized and grew, new Sales and Operations team members making—and leaving—their mark. There were the opportunities to travel through Europe on business: Brussels, Munich, Köln, Geneva, Milan, driving on the Autobahn in rented 4-valve Škodas and Opels …

… Fantastic memories, all.

As mentioned at the beginning of this entry, I will be back in Prague later this week to meet with the new team members, and you will hear from me again on what the next five years might bring.

Cheers.

Translatus is available for you… day and night

by Lauren Nemec

In effort to better serve our clients, Translatus has expanded its weekday office hours at its Department of Operations in Prague, Czech Republic.

Translatus clients can already contact Translatus representatives by phone or upload projects through Translation Direct Access at any time of day or night. We understand the importance of speed to market and tight deadlines, which is why we're doing even more to increase our capacity to process jobs more quickly and efficiently.

Tarah McCarthy, Manager of Operations, says of the change, "This step brings us closer to truly becoming a 24-hour provider. First, through extended office hours, we will be able to increase the window of time in which we are available to receive and process translation jobs from clients all over the world. In the future as Translatus expands in other continents, clients in every time zone will benefit from having multiple centers of operation working together remotely to process jobs more efficiently.”

For more information about Translatus, please contact:
Lauren Nemec
Marketing Manager
Email: lnemec@translatus.com
Tel: +420 222 517 153
www.translatus.com

Translatus Chicago Welcomes Veronika Svobodová

by Matthew Miodonski

Translatus would like to welcome Veronika Svobodová to its Chicago office.

Veronika is an alumna of La Salle University, Philadelphia with an M.A. in Professional Communication and Public Relations. She is a native Czech with international experience acquired through living in different countries of the world, including Indonesia and Greece. Before joining Translatus, Veronika worked in the Cultural Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Prague.Veronika, who has been with the company for over one year, makes the move from Translatus’ Prague Operations Department where she served as a Project Manager. As North American Account Manager, she will assist with Translatus’ North American Sales efforts and will manage the translation needs of North American clients.

While Veronika is new to the United States, her unique background of living abroad for much of her life, as well as her learning new cultures in various locales, will suit her well in her efforts from the U.S.

Everyone at Translatus wishes Veronika well, as we know she will be successful in her North American endeavors and will enjoy her time in Chicago.

In the next few weeks, Veronika will share some of her experiences and impressions of the United States.

For more information about Translatus in the United States, please contact:

Matthew Miodonski

President, North American Division

Email: mmiodonski@translatus.com

Tel: +1 773 603 0091

www.translatus.com

Translatus Announces Management Changes

by Lauren Nemec

Translatus would like to announce numerous management changes within our company.

Ms. Christine Kee, formerly the Sales Director, is now the Sales Director of Translatus International. Christine’s focus and responsibilities in the coming months will be concentrated on the company’s expansion into the Chinese market and implementing the company’s global sales strategy.

Christine is a native Chinese speaker who was born in Hong Kong. She graduated with a MA in Applied Translation from the University of Leeds in England. She has over 5 years experience in translation, including freelance translation and interpretation, as well as full-time translation service to the Hong Kong Government. Christine speaks English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

Mr. Jean-René Savoie joined the Translatus team as an Account Representative in February of this year. As our new European Sales Director, he will be responsible for building the European Sales Team and achieving sales goals that will help Translatus to become a key player in the language services market.

Jean-René graduated from the Université Laval (Quebec City) and Université de Montréal, with degrees in Communications and Advertising. He joined Translatus after working for 2 years in the advertising, communications and public relations fields in Canada. Customer service and business development were part of his responsibilities, either as a freelance project manager or for major players of the Canadian advertising industry. Jean-René speaks French and English.

Mr. Marco Berg has been with Translatus as an Account Representative since April of 2006. During this time, Marco has significantly contributed to sales force by closing key accounts and setting the bar for the most dedicated customer service. As our new European Account Manager, Marco will head the recruiting efforts for Translatus in addition to focusing on his key client accounts.

Marco graduated from the College of The Hague with a degree in Human Resources. Before joining Translatus he had over 4 years experience in Recruitment, Customer Service and Account Development. Marco speaks English, Dutch and some German and Czech.

For more information about Translatus, please contact:

Lauren Nemec

Marketing Manager

Email: lnemec@translatus.com

Tel: +420 222 517 153

www.translatus.com

Translatus Announces Partnership with EventAffair

by Lauren Nemec

Translatus is pleased to announce our partnership with Milan-based event management firm EventAffair. Translatus will be supporting EventAffair by providing their clients with comprehensive translation and interpreting services for their important events. This partnership allows Translatus to assist our own valued clients by linking them to a strong partner in the event management industry.

Sabine Vinci, General Manager of EventAffair says, “EventAffair is thrilled to partner with Translatus. Together, through our expertise in our respective markets and the strength of our services, we can achieve our goals of supporting the needs of global organizations.”

About EventAffair:

EventAffair customizes event programs to meet all of our customers’ communication needs. Our full service offer makes us a single source, turn-key solution provider, capable of managing all event activities. We support our customers in the search for the best ways of organizing meetings and managing individual services; customized and managed for you with utmost professionalism.

Our range of event capabilities includes:

Corporate Events

PR Launches

Product Presentations

Press Events

Public and Sporting Events

Charities

Incentives

Congresses

Teambuilding

For more information about EventAffair, please contact:
Sabine Vinci
General Manager
Email: sabine.vinci@eventaffair.com

Mob.: +39 335 8198813
Tel: +39 02 89011551
www.eventaffair.com

For more information about Translatus, please contact:
Lauren Nemec
Marketing Manager
Email: lnemec@translatus.com
Tel: +420 222 517 153
www.translatus.com

Innovating

by Dimitry Panchenko- Chief Software Developer

In today’s world, the document circulation situation is changing almost everyday, and moving more and more in the direction of "digital everything." We are buying e-tickets with e-money, buying e-music and e-movies, sending e-greetings to e-friends we have never met "offline" because we communicate using e-mail… Well...you get the picture!

Using the internet to translate everything you need is not just a possibility, but the best and easiest reality. In the near future, everybody will provide online translation services... This is what Translatus is already doing.

Translatus provides sophisticated job management for all of its clients’ projects. Most important for our clients is Translation Direct Access (TDA) - our unique online management system designed by Translatus. Through TDA, clients upload their files, track the status of all of their jobs in progress, request and approve job quotes, supply background/reference materials and download the final file. It is simply not necessary for you to ever leave the office, or even use clumsy and time consuming emails for translation services anymore.

Translatus is a modern, up-and-coming and dynamic young company. While we are proud of our current company technology, we are striving for more: better, easier and more efficient technology. I am happy to inform to our customers worldwide that we are developing a completely new version of TDA. It is a web application giving project managers the ability to organize their own projects and request bids for their translation jobs, allowing open and direct communication with all parties involved. The system will connect project managers, their users and customers, vendors and Translatus.

We are building the new TDA from the ground up as a totally new system that has all of the features of the existing system plus a lot more. More than three years of experience with online interfaces for translation services tells me that we are going in right direction.

As Chief Software Developer leading a team of talented programmers, I am helping Translatus to make the future a reality. We are using the newest technologies, highly qualified people and unlimited knowledge resources to provide our customers with a more high-tech, streamlined and efficient translation process.

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The new TDA is scheduled to be launched within the coming weeks, so please check back with us soon for more information.

If you would like to see a demo version of our current Translation Direct Access system, please visit www.tdahome.com and enter the following log-in information:

Login: demo1

Password: demo2

For more information about the current TDA or the new TDA, please contact Lauren Nemec at lnemec@translatus.com.

-----------------

Dimitry Panchenko

Chief Software Developer

Tel: +420 222 522 650

www.translatus.com

Translatus Opens New Office in Chicago

by Matthew Miodonski

President, North American Division

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Translatus has opened a new North American office on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue at 333 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1000. As a native Chicagoan, this news is particularly exciting for me to share!

Chicagoans feel a great deal of civic pride for this city for many reasons. Chicago has undergone a multitude of staggering changes over the past 15 years. Chicago is now considered among the most important and influential cities on the globe. Construction is booming throughout the city. Neighborhoods are being revitalized. Companies like Boeing and United Airlines have made downtown Chicago their home. Internationally known companies like McDonald’s, Motorola and BP Amoco also have their international or national headquarters in the area.

Translatus Inc.'s new North American headquarters in Chicago, at 333 N. Michigan Ave. The building at the center-right, with the crown protruding over the John Hancock center's anttenae, holds Translatus' office at Suite 1000.

The Chicago area (known as “Chicagoland” to locals) has been the Top Metro for new corporate investments and expansions for 5 of the last 6 years. Chicago was the first U.S. city highlighted by China’s EXIT magazine, the only magazine associated with the China National Tourism Association. The recently re-elected mayor of Chicago, Richard M. Daley, has made great efforts in promoting the city to the emerging Chinese markets. (From World Business Chicago.)

This picture was taken about two blocks from Translatus’ office from the Michigan AvenueBridge over the Chicago River. The new Trump Tower Chicago, at right, illustrates the building boom underway in Chicago. The building designed in the style of classical Greek architecture is United Airlines’ new corporate headquarters.

It has been an exhilarating first few weeks in such an energetic and inspiring setting. I believe Chicago, as the United States’ transportation hub, and one of the great transportation centers of the world, is the perfect spot for Translatus to be in North America. I look forward to the growth that Translatus will achieve in the Windy City!

From the base of 333 N. Michigan Ave— immediately at right— one can see three of the most beautiful buildings in the world. The neo-Gothic flying buttresses of Tribune Tower, home of the Tribune Co.; the terra cotta façade of the Wrigley Building, home of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company; and, further in the distance, the John Hancock Center, with its tapered sides, and revolutionary external ‘X’-bracing.

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Mr. Miodonski graduated from the college of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a B.A. in Rhetoric, as well as a Minor in Germanic Studies. He has over 6 years of experience in customer service and sales roles, including almost 4 years in sales and account management for Translatus.

For more information about Translatus in the United States, please contact:

Matthew Miodonski

President, North American Division

Email: mmiodonski@translatus.com

Tel: +1 773 603 0091

www.translatus.com

Prague in Pictures

Charles Bridge, January 2007

February 15, 2007

By Lauren Nemec

Translatus is part of a network that brings people from all parts of the world together. We love to receive pictures from our business partners showing life in their part of the world, whether they are snaps of a translator ice-fishing in Finland, a client's photos of steamy Seville, or shots of famous icons from around the globe. In return for these insights into your lives and your countries, we would like to share some of our own photos with you.

Translatus Account Representative Marco Berg has captured the beauty of Prague and is excited to share his photos with you. Please click on the photo thumbnail for a larger image.

Old Town Square, September 2006



View of Prague Castle, June 2006



The City of 100 Spires, April 2006



Bridges Spanning the Vltava River, April 2006

Should you decide to come see the beauty of Prague for yourself, please stop by our office! We would love to meet you.

For more information about Translatus, please contact:

Lauren Nemec

Marketing Manager

Email: lnemec@translatus.com

Tel: +420 222 517 153

www.translatus.com

Translatus Announces New Manager of Operations

February 7, 2007

By Lauren Nemec

Translatus is delighted to introduce our new Manager of Operations, Tarah McCarthy.

Ms. McCarthy joined the Translatus team in November of 2006 as a Project Manager. She is now set to lead the Operations Department as the former Director, David Depman, prepares to head Translatus’ new Department of Business Development.

Before joining Translatus, Ms. McCarthy had three years of experience working in the accounting department of a New Jersey law firm as an assistant to the controller. Ms. McCarthy holds a B.A. in Art and Communication from William Paterson University, where she graduated with honors.

Translatus looks forward to working with Ms. McCarthy as she leads the Operations team to what we are sure will be a very exciting and busy year!

For more information about Translatus, please contact:

Lauren Nemec

Marketing Manager

Email: lnemec@translatus.com

Tel: +420 222 517 153

www.translatus.com

Welcome to the Translatus Blog

February 7, 2006

By Lauren Nemec

Welcome to the new Translatus blog!

We at Translatus expect a busy and exciting year in 2007. Our team is working hard to offer you groundbreaking new services and the best customer service at the most competitive rates.

Come back often for Translatus updates and industry-related news and articles. Please feel free to leave your comments. We would like to hear from you!

For more information about Translatus, please contact:

Lauren Nemec

Marketing Manager

Email: lnemec@translatus.com

Tel: +420 222 517 153

www.translatus.com