Sparkling Lengua

June 2020

In Sparkling Lengua, MECALAC has found a linguistic partner to match its hard-working machines

The MECALAC Group, a European leader globally renowned for the quality of its products, specializes in the design, manufacture and distribution of compact construction equipment for urban environments. With constant innovation, the company aims to optimize the safety, productivity and environmental credentials of its machines. Operating in more than 80 countries, MECALAC offers a wide range of excavators, wheel loaders, dumpers, backhoe loaders and compaction rollers. Since 2019, the company has been counting on Sparkling Lengua for multilingual translations and DTP. Rémi Badet, Technical Documentation Manager, tells us why.

Sparkling Lengua (SL): How come you started working with Sparkling Lengua?

Rémi Badet (RB): To begin with, I was working with another Belgian company for translation and DTP. But they ended up being taken over, and their quality rapidly declined. They started outsourcing services, including DTP… At that company, I was collaborating closely with Audrey, who was handling the layout of my translated documents. When I heard that she had joined Sparkling Lengua, it was only natural for me to reach out again. At Sparkling Lengua, I quickly came to appreciate the way the company values its clients, your human touch and the commitment you bring to every single project.

SL: What document types does Sparkling Lengua translate for you? And in what languages?

RB: Essentially operating and maintenance manuals, repair manuals and other related documents. And more recently, our marketing department has started sending in brochures and product sheets. From French, we translate first of all into English, which then gets translated into other languages, above all Italian, German, Polish and, more recently, Spanish. We also rely on Sparkling Lengua to adapt materials in British English to the North American market, which involves not just terminology but also conversions from metric to imperial units of measurement, according to very specific and exacting requirements. And depending on machine orders, we might have additional needs in Danish, Finnish, Hungarian, Dutch, Portuguese, Lithuanian, Czech, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Norwegian and Turkish. In most countries we are in fact legally obliged to provide documentation in the respective language. We do ask for a few edits every now and then, but globally we are very pleased with the quality of the translations.

SL: You mentioned desktop publishing. What do you think of that part of our services?

RB: DTP is an essential part of our projects. What I need are final documents that are ready to be published. An internal DTP department, boosted by Audrey’s expertise, was among the basic requirements for starting this collaboration. I attach great importance to DTP since our manuals act in a way as a showcase for our company. Flawless translations and layouts underline our serious, professional approach. Audrey has an impressive mastery of the entire Adobe Suite, InDesign in particular, and she is always ready to share her tips and tricks with us. This is a great asset to us. When it comes to applying our chosen layouts across all language versions, we can count on her expert support.

SL: According to you, what are Sparkling Lengua’s most outstanding qualities?

RB: I like your proactive and dynamic approach, the way you keep things transparent and share information, as well as the team’s responsiveness, not least in case of occasional mistakes (rare, but they do happen). Sparkling Lengua works very closely with its clients while scrupulously respecting instructions and original documents. In my eyes, your company isn’t just a supplier but more like a branch office that shares our concern for our brand and image. Another advantage is your location, right in the heart of Europe. And I like being able to communicate in my mother tongue, French.

SL: In your opinion, what is the greatest challenge that Sparkling Lengua encounters with your projects?

RB: The main challenge is handling our growing volumes within very tight deadlines: responsiveness is a must. Sparkling Lengua shows great flexibility in providing extremely fast turnarounds. Translation quality is another major concern. At MECALAC, we bring the same exacting standards of professionalism to our documentation as we do to our machines, and translation is part of that. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. Accurately translated manuals shore up the confidence they place in us as supplier of their machines.

SL: On a scale of 0 to 5 (5 being the top mark), how would you rate our services?

RB: Let’s say 4 or 4.5. There is always room for improvement, but we’re very satisfied.

SL: Would you recommend our services to colleagues or business partners?

RB: Yes, and our marketing department is a case in point.

SL: Thank you very much for your time, Rémi! It’s a real privilege to count you among our clients, and we’re delighted to hear you like our services.