The Translation Business Goes High Tech As Globalization Spurs Demand
Excerpted From The Miami Herald - June 30, 2003
In recent years, the industry has begun to consolidate, and it now has its own 900-pound gorillas.
Among them is New York-based TransPerfect, which has 19 offices around the world -- including one in Miami. With $25 million in revenue in 2002, it's among the world's largest translation companies.
TransPerfect's blue-chip client list includes American Express, ExxonMobil and Coca-Cola.
Elizabeth Elting, President and CEO of TransPerfect, said the company's Fortune 500 clients now have higher expectations than in the past and expect to see specialization in their industries from a translation company.
"Our goal has been to transform the industry, make it more sophisticated than the mom-and-pop industry it had been," she said, "and it's working."
TransPerfect, which was founded in 1992, expects each of its offices to make more money this year, contributing to an overall 35 percent increase in revenue in 2003. The Miami office has been a solid performer. "In fact, we're about to add staff to it," said Elting.
With the advent of the Internet, small companies can set themselves up with marketing material pretty quickly, she said. But it's difficult for customers to gauge the quality of a firm's work through a website.
—D.E. Léger
About TransPerfect
TransPerfect is a diversified family of companies providing a full array of international communication services in 22 offices worldwide, including document management, translation, and staffing solutions. TransPerfect is ISO 9001:2000 certified which means it has implemented the most rigorous quality assurance process, according to criteria set forth by the International Organization for Standardization. The wide range of services it provides includes imaging, reprographic services, electronic data discovery, multilingual OCR, electronic labeling, coding, on-site imaging and copying, as well as staffing, and a full suite of translation and interpretation solutions. Headquarters are in New York City. |
