The Translation Challenge
The Millboard Company, one of the UK’s leading wood-free composite decking boards and cladding manufacturers, embarked on an ambitious global expansion in 2020. To effectively distribute their products worldwide, they required high-quality translations of their technical and marketing materials into a diverse range of languages.
These materials included installation guides, specification sheets, product guides, warranty documents, and marketing content.
Ensuring accurate translations was crucial as improper installation, guided by these documents, could invalidate product warranties. Additionally, the materials contained technical jargon and repeated text, necessitating consistency across all translations.
The Bubbles Approach
Bubbles was tasked with translating a variety of technical and promotional materials for The Millboard Company into multiple languages, including European languages, Chinese, Arabic, and Hebrew. Recognising the technical similarities and recurring text across documents, Bubbles utilised translation memory technology. This approach ensured uniformity in terminology and style and resulted in cost efficiencies and faster delivery times for The Millboard Company.
The translation process was also designed to be seamless and accommodating to Millboard’s preferences. Typically, Millboard provided the content in PDF format, and their in-house design team preferred to handle the foreign language artwork.
To facilitate this, Bubbles delivered translations in bilingual Word tables, presenting English text and its translations side-by-side, simplifying the task for Millboard’s designers. In instances where Millboard’s design team was preoccupied, Bubbles offered additional support by managing the typesetting using InDesign artwork.
Project Outcomes, Results & Success
Bubbles Translation Services successfully met The Millboard Company Limited’s diverse translation needs without compromising on quality. The use of translation memory ensured consistency across all documents, while the bilingual Word tables streamlined the integration process for Millboard’s in-house design team.
Despite the complexity of the materials and the breadth of languages involved, Bubbles maintained a record of positive feedback from Millboard’s international distributors, affirming the high quality of the translations. This collaborative effort not only supported Millboard’s global expansion but also highlighted Bubbles’ adaptability, technological proficiency, and commitment to quality in translation services.