“Connections like these can’t be made sitting at a desk!” is the tagline for this year’s Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) East Conference and Expo. At LinguaLinx, we could not agree more. Thiat’s why we will be exhibiting at this year’s conference to be held June 18 – 20, 2013 at the Philadelphia Convention Center.

“We are very excited to be exhibiting at this year’s MD&M Expo in Philadelphia,” says Colin Melanson, Business Development Specialist at LinguaLinx. “We have recognized a growing need for translation services in the Medical Device Industry and believe this will be a great opportunity to meet top companies within the industry.”

Colin will be joined by Bill Kelts, Manager of Workflow Solutions in the Quality Section of the Expo. Attendees are invited to stop by Booth #2461 to learn more about LinguaLinx and the many different ways that we can meet their multilingual needs. As if that is not enough incentive, we will also be raffling off a 32 inch flat-screen television!

Other highlights from the conference include presentations on new technologies, inspiring keynotes from industry experts, and industry panels. We hope that you will leave Philadelphia with a lot of knowledge under your belt about new ideas in the Medical Device and Manufacturing industry and information on how LinguaLinx can help you communicate accurately in the global marketplace.

The need for accurate translations in the Medical Device and Manufacturing Industry is paramount. Surveys done by the Emergo Group in 2012 and 2013 showed significant growth in international sales in North America and Europe with continued growth in Brazil, India and China. Markets in Southeast Asia are also projected to grow within the next five years. About a quarter to half of the devices made in the United States are sold overseas.

With the expansion into global markets come requirements by government regulatory bodies to have materials such as safety information, product operating instructions, or packaging translated into the native language of the product users.  Such stringent regulations are in place in the United States, the European Union, Japan and China. As more aggressive regulatory stances grow in these and other countries, the need for quality and precise translations will grow also.

LinguaLinx uses skilled linguists who are experienced in the medical profession. We are very familiar with the key translation standards such as SAE J2450, ISO 14971, ISO 13485 and EN 15038. We’re eager to share this knowledge with attendees at the show and with industry people to ensure that this critical industry is supported by accurate translations.

This is the first in a series of profiles of the people who make LinguaLinx special.

Eriko Fujita

When you ask Eriko Fujita, Senior Project Manager at LinguaLinx, how long she’s been with the company, she pauses for a second, counts in her head, laughs a little and says, “Over seven years, I think.”

She found LinguaLinx while looking for a new career, after working as a Geological Consultant investigating PCBs in the Hudson River. Her project manager experience had piqued her curiosity about the translation industry.

“It’s everywhere,” she says. “[When I was researching the company] I noticed things like packaging with words in different languages. I saw globalization everywhere.”

In her years working at LinguaLinx, Eriko has seen a lot of changes, many of them centred on improved technology.

The nature of her work has changed, too. She now handles a variety of projects: everything from small projects with just a few words to projects with over 100,000 words to to translating entire websites.

“I like challenges,” she says, when asked about her favorite part of the job. “I just like problem-solving. I am much happier doing 10,000 word or more projects.”

Her love for problem-solving and her unflappable demeanor rub off on her coworkers. The other project managers go to her with questions, and she says she thinks they feel comfortable with her. When asked to describe herself in five words, Eriko listed off “Funny, caring, thoughtful, intelligent… Hmm and well, modest,” while laughing lightly at her own ironic joke.

As a self-proclaimed private person, outside of work Eriko spends a lot of time with her husband and 4 year-old son Kazuki whom they adopted from Japan. They kept his original name (Kazu means “big wind” and Ki means “big tree”). She says her son fascinates her with the things he says, as well as the adult-like child conversations between him and his friends. She’s writing it all down in a book to remember it all someday.

Since 2006, she has been a member of Soroptimist International of Saratoga County (SISC). This is a volunteer organization of professional women who work to help other girls and women locally and worldwide.  She has held various leadership positions with the organization.

As a mainstay at LinguaLinx, Eriko keeps things moving along smoothly with a calm and professional demeanor much valued by clients.

On May 19, 2013 the LinguaLinx team put on its running shoes for charity and
participated in 5K and 15K events at the Cohoes, NY  Mastodon Challenge, an exciting part of the Heritage Festival celebrating the 144^th anniversary of the city that’s home to our corporate headquarters. Continue reading →

We’re fresh off the plane home from the annual user conference of Lectora,
the leading eLearning software and authoring tools provider. We’re inspired by the creativity and accomplishments of the eLearning community we saw on display in San Antonio. And we have a keen sense of the role translation will play in the future of eLearning…

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Photo Credit: Arek Olek via photopin cc

On a blog appropriately called “The Translation Blog, ” LinguaLinx took a look at cross-cultural business communication.

We focused on three common examples of cultural mistakes: mistranslations, cultural incompatibility and bad associations with the way a brand, product or company name sounds. 

You can read the full blog post here.

Some excerpts and paraphrases follow:

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LinguaLinx has announced a twenty year commitment to using an environmentally friendly solar power unit. Read about about how it works – and why it’s important – to the language translation provider in upstate New York. By utilizing solar panels, the company will replace much of its traditional energy consumption with environmentally friendly electricity. Excess power created by the solar panels can be provided to the utility grid, further increasing the availability and use of green energy.

Solar Panels on the Lingualinx building in Cohoes, NY.

By choosing to use green electricity, LinguaLinx is reducing environmental impact and supporting the development of renewable generation in New York’s capital region. This reduces the need for power from a utility provider and promotes energy independence.

While LinguaLinx estimates a 76.52% reduction in energy costs, the price to install and maintain solar power is often prohibitive. To overcome this barrier, LinguaLinx has entered into a 20 year Solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with New York Light Energy, a Latham New York-based company offering cost-effective solar power.

According to the agreement, New York Light Energy conducts a structural and electrical analysis of facilities prior to installation. The company then designs, installs and operates a photovoltaic (PV) power system. LinguaLinx pays for the green electricity produced by the solar paneling with no required investment in equipment or maintenance.

David Smith, president of LinguaLinx, said the company is active in practicing social and environmental responsibility. The company won the 2012 “Spirit of Cohoes” award for outstanding service to local community residents and businesses. The new 30,000 kW solar unit will help LinguaLinx maintain its environmental stewardship during periods of growth and expansion.

“Consistent with our mission to be an ecologically responsible company, LinguaLinx is pleased to be working with New York Light Energy in providing a solar power solution to help us increase our power independence and reduce our energy costs.”

Alex Lieb, New York Light Energy’s CEO, echoed Smith’s conviction that green energy is a win-win proposition for preserving the environment and reducing utility costs.

“New York Light Energy is proud to support LinguaLinx, a leader in multicultural marketing, during its transition to renewable solar energy that will power LinguaLinx for decades to come,” said Lieb. “Customers and employees will all benefit from a commitment to environmentally friendly renewable energy which will help to power the growth of LinguaLinx.”

While companies such as New York Light Energy make green power feasible, Smith also stressed that companies not taking advantage of green initiatives can start with small steps to lessen environmental impact.

Suggestions include recycling programs and reducing the amount of documents printed. For large documents that require printing such as business proposals, contracts and reports, it is beneficial to print two-sided on recycled paper when possible.

About LinguaLinx, Inc.

LinguaLinx, Inc. is a full-service international communications company providing an array of services ranging from outsourced documentation, XML migration and content authoring to multilingual solutions in over 100 languages such as translation, interpreting and desktop publishing. LinguaLinx partners with clients to enhance all aspects of their content lifecycle and achieve a greater return on their multicultural marketing efforts. More information can be obtained by visiting http://www.lingualinx.com

Roger The Robot, the official mascot of SEOMOZ, bears the gift of wisdom.

LinguaLinx and its clients were recently featured in SEOMOZ, a much respected blog for professionals in the marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) fields.The blog post was entitled Beyond SEO: Why Good Translation is the Secret Sauce for Successful International Projects. It made the point that technical SEO expertise on things like website architecture and page titles isn’t enough. Expert translation is also essential.

You can read the full blog post here. Some excerpts follow.

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Certification for translators can be an important credential. It also has limitations. Certification is according to language combinations. A translator might be certified for English into Spanish or Chinese into English. Since there is no certification for many language pairs, translation agencies need more ways to pick the right person for the job.

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