One Woman Builds A Business And Revolutionizes An Industry Run By Mom And Pop Shops

Atlanta News Leader - December, 2003

When Liz Elting started her company 11 years ago, it was in her dorm room with a $5000 advance on her credit card and a dream. Today, that dream has become one of the largest translation companies in the world, TransPerfect Translations, Inc. Her vision has transformed an entire industry: an industry made up of over 4,500 companies, most of which are mom and pop operations. TransPerfect is the anomaly and has already exceeded the $25 million mark in revenue and growth, despite an economy that has been flat. As President and CEO of TransPerfect Translations, Inc. she is the only woman at the helm of a large translation company.

Today, she has brought her company to the forefront of the business world. Her company has recently become one of the first in the industry to be ISO 9001:2008 certified which is a huge step in her business-or in any other business for that matter. As President of an ISO-certified company, she has established a quality assurance process which puts her in the unique position of guaranteeing work of superior quality.

An overwhelming number of translation companies are small, with limited resources and in-house capabilities. A company could end up dealing with a one-person operation that works out of a home office where an appointment to take a pet to the doctor might take priority over meeting a deadline. "Most businesses are not aware that they may be dealing with this type of company and don't understand the risk they are taking when they trust their work to firms with such limited capabilities," commented Liz Elting. She continues, "Here is an industry where even the slightest mistake could send the wrong message to an entire country." She felt the industry should be a lot more standardized, responsible and accurate.

So Elting built a global company headquartered in New York with 20 offices on 3 continents using the strictest screening of employees in the business and, at the same time, she has given the industry some much needed legitimacy. TransPerfect Translations has grown into a large, privately owned company whose client list looks like the Fortune 1000 and includes virtually every field including legal, pharmaceutical, financial, and advertising.

With ISO certification, TransPerfect offers its clients unmatched consistency, expertise, and quality in the work they deliver. BSI, the world's foremost standards and certification organization, conducts thorough audits of TransPerfect procedures on an on-going basis. It is their assessment that resulted in ISO certification. This process requires that TransPerfect scores its works on many checkpoints and, most important, that it has the capacity to continually improve those processes. Over and above the strict specifications of the ISO, TransPerfect Translations has instituted its own rigorous certification that includes testing, evaluating, and continual training of employees. Elting comments, "Fewer than 20% of the linguists who apply to work for us are able to pass our rigorous testing process. This means that every translation we create is crafted by the highest caliber linguists in over 100 languages." Many of the key people on her staff are available 24/7. "We are setting standards and expectations that one could never have imagined a decade ago," Liz added.

In addition, TransPerfect gathers together all of its employees from around the world twice a year for training and team-building. Departments at the company are set up as mini-profit centers with financial incentives for achieving client satisfaction, creating both a team orientation and a competitive spirit among employees. "Our employees have an extreme amount of pressure on them," says Liz. "We feel it is important to the overall business model not only to make them feel a part of a family, but also let them reap the financial benefits."

With the opening of new offices in Denver, Colorado and Geneva, Switzerland in January, and business increasing exponentially each year, TransPerfect Translations has not only created a great business model but also, in effect, redefined what companies can come to expect from the best. "We take our mission very seriously," explained Liz. "We understand the importance of linguistic and cultural implications in the translation process. We owe it to our clients and the ultimate consumer to be perfect." And that is what Liz Elting strives for, perfection, and from the looks of it, she is succeeding.

About TransPerfect
With revenue of over $250 million, TransPerfect is the largest privately held language services provider in the world. From offices in 66 cities on 5 continents, TransPerfect offers a full range of services in over 100 languages to multinationals worldwide. With a global network of over 4,000 linguists and subject-area specialists, TransPerfect is the largest translation company to be fully ISO 9001:2008 and EN 15038:2006 certified. TransPerfect is headquartered in New York and has regional headquarters in London and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit our website at www.transperfect.com.