One Company’s Experience Buying Translation: R.A Jones Case Study
Dave Maslowski is the Publications Manager for R.A Jones (formerly OYSTAR Packaging Technologies), a Davenport, Iowa company that manufactures machinery primarily for the food and meat industry. Dave is a long-time customer of Argos. Recently, we interviewed him to find out how Argos is helping R.A Jones do business around the world.
How does translation help R.A Jones do business?
Dave Maslowski: We start from scratch because our manuals are unique for each order. If we sell to a customer that requires another language, we’ll get the English operator manual completed first, then call Argos, Most of our translation projects in the last few years have been in Spanish or French.
How would you rate Argos as a vendor?
DM: Argos has been a reliable and steady vendor for us for a long time. That trust we have is one where you almost become friends but you’re still business partners. I rely on them to do a job by a certain date and do it in a certain manner. They just do it. We have not had one customer complain to us about translation since we’ve been using Argos.
How does Argos differ from other professional translators?
Dave We’ve used other translators in the past. The one thing that Argos has never done to us is they’ve never promised a delivery date and missed it. The bottom line is, the people that I interface with at Argos have always been helpful and courteous. They’re responsive and they follow through. You can’t ask for anything more.
In your years translating with Argos, can you think of an experience that stands out?
DM: We once had a US customer that needed a Spanish translation. We had some concerns since employees came from different Spanish-speaking countries. And the customer wanted the Spanish manual done before the machine shipped. Argos took it all in stride. They were able to put the Spanish text together. It worked out quite well.
How has Argos helped you save on translation costs?
DM: We’ve been working together so long we get the normal price and there’s a discounted price based on previously translated text. So we’re starting to see some significant discounts. It would be stupid for us to go to somebody else. We wouldn’t realize that kind of discount from another translation company.
Any advice you’d give to a company looking for translation?
DM: People don’t realize how involved translation is. It’s not something to hand off to somebody who speaks the language. They have to be well-versed in the native language they’re translating into, well-versed in English, well-versed in the subject matter. That’s why it’s so important to work with a firm that’s well established and in the business. Language evolves. It’s not static. You have to stay on top of this stuff. It’s very important that you use a company that’s in the ballgame, not on the sidelines.
