Technical translations with the experience and care of those who know the business

This is the most important question at the beginning of any partnership. If your company operates in the technical and scientific fields, then the answer is a big “YES”. Varendi Translation, founded in 1989 under the name of “Intercom Technical Translations” by three doctors and an engineer, has always worked in technical areas. Our objective is to leave the customer at ease when it comes to translations. Just to give a couple of examples, our customers have never been questioned about our translations during approval processes (ANVISA, Inter-Ministerial Committee on Global Climate Change etc., as examples in the government sector). A quick search on the Internet or chat with colleges in the sector can also confirm the customer service, punctuality, and quality of Varendi Translation.

Varendi Translation has experience, and has invested and developed specific glossaries for some areas since 1989. The main area - due to the medical specialization of the founders - is the area of Life Sciences (basically, the pharmaceutical industry, which includes veterinary, as well as diagnostics and medical equipment). Other areas in which we have developed expertise over the years are Distance Learning, HR and Training, Finance and Bank Services, IT and Technology, General Administration and Contracts.

Varendi Translation can work in any technical or scientific area. We are able to seek out specific technicians for larger jobs, and we are able to shorten the learning curve by creating glossaries (based on the customer’s documentation). Another way to accelerate the adaptation (refer to FAQ on adaptation) is to process documents previously translated by the customer to input in our knowledge base (as if we had translated them), so that we can use them as a reference.

Every new customer has their own process and always has something to teach us. We work to make the learning phase as quick as possible. Adaptation could take days (for customers who already have an organized base of translated documents and/or glossaries) or a few weeks for customers who do not have or prefer to not make previous translations available to us. Meetings could be necessary in some specific cases, until the customer is comfortable in assigning new jobs to Varendi. What is important is that based on our experience we will strive to make the transition as smooth as possible.

We believe that the only reasonable approach is for us to adapt to the Purchasing processes established by the customer. For us, we only need basic information, and we will be able to start a partnership. In general, our customers are solid multinational companies, who have different purchasing and work approval processes, sometimes with their own platforms. We will comply with the internal process in order to continue with a long and favorable partnership.

Beyond a mere marketing word, “quality” is the direct result of the processes implemented, supported by trained, technical people. We write and follow our quality process, which are based on generally accepted translation and quality standards. We also adapt them for new customers and new customer situations, and train our staff, who are dedicated to quality. Technology, such as translation management systems (Plunet), and translation memories (Trados, MemoQ, etc.) are essential tools to attain excellent quality and deadlines.

No translation standard (for example, ISO 17100) accepts that a technical translation is handled by a single professional. This makes sense, since it is better to have more than one “pair of eyes” to take care of your project. A house may be built by one person - but a good house never is. Likewise, the translation of a short document will involve a multidisciplinary team of at least two to four people, in addition to the Project Manager. All this in addition to the quality/after-sales and administration staff.

The history of machine translations with computers began in approximately 1949 and has evolved significantly during the 2000’s. However, it was only around 2010 that a more intelligent (“neural”) model to translate languages appeared. Natural language, with its diverse contexts, remains a challenge to be able to produce a professional grade translation. For example, it is impossible to use machine translation for marketing documents. However, machine translations has specific applications (with controlled language) where it helps to shorten deadlines. Far from just pressing a button, it also has a specific ISO standard (ISO 18587). It is important to remember that any machine translation should be used responsibly and with discretion, and will always require a professional revision by human specialists. Except in cases with critical deadlines, Varendi Translation still believes in better outcomes from translations done by specialized humans, and for the time being, that is what we prefer to use whenever possible.