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I was intrigued by a comment I read in Nataly Kelly\u2019s recent Forbes piece: \u201cLikewise, the majority of the world\u2019s translators (who deal with written words) do not translate books. The largest amount of work in this field comes from the manufacturing sector.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n KMT: Why did you research translation in the manufacturing sector?<\/b> <\/p>\n RR: Depending on the vertical, translation buyers may have somewhat different requirements, so we decided to research the top ones that provide the most opportunity for revenue for freelancers and language service providers (LSPs). We chose the verticals based on our in-depth market sizing report that we publish every year, \u201cThe Language Services Market: 2012<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n Manufacturing represents the largest single vertical by far: more than US$11 billion for 2012, which corresponds to one-third of the total market language services market! What\u2019s great is that there are hundreds of sub-sectors to serve. As a result, there are many opportunities for translators with an established offering for manufacturers, as well as those new to the vertical. We uncovered at least 16 specific opportunities while doing our research, including expanded language coverage, expansion into related patent- and IP-related services, and transcreation. <\/p>\n One of the big opportunities we uncovered was source content optimization, or editing original source text before it is translated. We confirmed that engineers \u2013 especially ones required to write in a non-native language \u2013 are one of the main causes of quality problems originating in source content in various manufacturing sub-sectors. They typically cut and paste from corrupt Word templates and recycle legacy PDF files that raise costs and lengthen delivery times for downstream translation teams. Therefore, opportunities for freelancers and LSPs abound in this area, including writing and editing services, education in how to write for global audiences, and automation for re-use. <\/p>\n KMT: You must have classified the market segments you were surveying. Do your results cover a wide range of technical areas? Do any stand out? <\/b><\/p>\n RR: Yes, we reviewed several sub-sectors within manufacturing. The largest ones for the language service industries are machine and equipment; pharmaceutical; computer, electronic, optical products; and motor vehicles and other transport equipment. In fact, these manufacturing sub-subsectors occupy four of the top 10 categories and 13 of the top 36 categories for the language services industry. <\/p>\n KMT: What differentiates the manufacturing sector from other market segments? <\/b><\/p>\n RR: A language provider must be able to supply the additional subject matter expertise in whatever sectors they focus on in this vertical \u2013 this is a given from the buyer\u2019s perspective. Freelancers can do this through their own educational or work experience, or they can collaborate with colleagues who already have it. In fact, due to the pervasive requirement for deep subject matter expertise, freelancers and single-language vendors (SLVs) should be able to compete quite well against larger LSPs in this sector. <\/p>\n Suppliers should also be prepared for the fact that manufacturing clients often prefer to select their partners on the basis of word of mouth. Supplemented by their own experience, networking with peers, and translator portals, buyers in this vertical generally bypass the request for proposals (RFP) process. Vendors may also be surprised to find that price is not a top issue in vendor selection for this section. It actually ranks below subject matter expertise, linguistic quality, flexibility, and quality of the business relationship. This is probably because the actual users of language services \u2013 not purchasing specialists \u2013 often have the biggest say in this vertical when it comes to vendor selection. <\/p>\n KMT: My impression is that finding subject matter experts is a perennial problem for translation buyers. Would your results support that theory?<\/b> <\/p>\n RR: Manufacturing buyers told us that the resources are often available, but it is a question of locating and vetting them. If you\u2019re a freelancer who is fairly fluent in one or two other languages in addition to the ones in which you\u2019re currently working, you should consider teaming up with a colleague who is stronger in one or more of those languages, but who may not have your technical expertise. Or, vice-versa. Presenting your service this way will show your clients that they can count on you for more than just one or two languages in one or more sub-sectors. <\/p>\n If you\u2019re a language service supplier, you should confirm the languages that will be required by your targeted manufacturing sub-sectors over the next few years. If you don\u2019t have the right talent under contract yet, start recruiting now. <\/p>\n KMT: A common problem for technical translators is not being able to find out what something means in context: the client does not send drawings, or when working via another LSP or in large firms the translation project manager has no access to the author. Do you have any impressions on this being a problem? <\/b><\/p>\n RR: This is definitely still a challenge for many verticals \u2013 not just manufacturing. Interestingly enough, more than one manufacturer we interviewed mentioned that they had offered training for translators and editors more than once that no one took advantage of. That may have something to do with the time commitment required, and perhaps no compensation being offered for the time involved. This is one reason some buyers in specialized verticals like to work directly with freelancers. By taking out the middleman, it can be easier for them to ensure that the knowledge transfer takes place. <\/p>\n KMT: In considering translating for manufacturing, we often imagine user manuals or standard operating procedures. What about marketing copy for manufacturing as being a translation challenge? Did you consider the varied types of documents that manufacturers need to have translated?<\/b> <\/p>\n RR: Yes, we did. As in many other industries, content volumes, the number of required languages, and the variety of publishing channels continue to expand. Those responsible for translation and localization at manufacturing companies described to us a world in which their companies are being required to deliver more tailored products for more local language markets to stay competitive into the foreseeable future. They explained that this translated into smaller amounts of content per project, but rising volumes overall. <\/p>\n In several sub-sectors, manufacturers continue to move closer and closer to the final consumer as more of their products and services go mobile. For those companies, translation managers are experiencing an increased focus on marketing content, especially audio and video for online consumption. We think that freelancers and agencies should look for those opportunities, rather than waiting for their customers to approach them.<\/p>\n