Case Study · Custom Machinery Becker: operating manuals, consistent across every language.
Becker Sonder-Maschinenbau designs and builds high-performance precision machinery for custom machine building and packaging technology, with over 70 specialists and more than 16,000 m² of production space. Its technical documentation goes out in many languages, mainly to Eastern European markets. tolingo handles the ongoing specialist translation with a dedicated translator team and translation memory.
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- Client: Becker Sonder-Maschinenbau GmbH, Germany. A manufacturer of high-performance precision machinery for custom machine building and packaging technology, with over 70 specialists and more than 16,000 m² of production space.
- Challenge: Translating technical documentation, operating manuals and spare-parts catalogues into several languages. A focus on Eastern European markets such as Russian and Polish, with consistent specialist terminology across every document.
- Solution: A four-stage process covering project kick-off, translation, quality assurance and project close-out. A dedicated specialist translator team with documented mechanical-engineering experience for every language pair. Translation memory locks in consistency and reduces the cost of follow-up projects.
- Result: Consistent terminology across every language, the same dedicated team for every project, and predictable delivery times even for high-volume express requests.
The challenge
Highly technical texts, accurate and consistent across languages
Becker Sonder-Maschinenbau supplies custom-built, high-performance machinery for custom machine building and packaging technology. Every machine shipped comes with operating manuals and spare-parts catalogues for international customers, mostly in Eastern European markets. Russian and Polish are the main languages, with further language pairs added depending on the project.
The demands on the translation are far from trivial. Anyone translating manuals for a packaging machine needs to understand the context: the mechanics, the electrical components, the safety logic. The right technical vocabulary is essential, and so is a consistent tone across every document. Then there's the pace: high-volume express projects are the rule in custom machine building, not the exception.
The solution
A four-stage process with a dedicated specialist team and translation memory
tolingo runs every Becker project through a clearly defined four-stage process: project kick-off, translation, quality assurance, project close-out. The same dedicated team works every language pair, with documented mechanical-engineering experience. Translation memory systems run in the background throughout, locking in consistency across follow-up projects.
Four building blocks make the workflow hold up:
Operating manuals and spare-parts catalogues are taken directly from Becker's own format, with no detour through manual reformatting.
The same dedicated team for every language pair, with documented mechanical-engineering experience. The specialists know Becker's product range.
Stable terminology across every language. Recurring modules are recognised and billed at a lower rate.
Short-notice deadlines and high volumes, covered by the close relationship with the dedicated team. No escalating to someone new.
The translation process in four stages
Project after project, the same workflow
Every Becker project runs through the same four-stage process, from the files arriving to final delivery. That makes delivery times predictable and keeps quality steady, even for short-notice express requests.
| Stage | Phase | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Project kick-off | Reviewing the files, defining the specialist field, selecting translators from the dedicated team, estimating the timeline. |
| 02 | Translation | The dedicated specialist team for each language pair translates and proofreads, with translation memory active throughout. |
| 03 | Quality assurance | Checked for completeness, terminology, spelling and formatting. ISO 17100 sets the framework. |
| 04 | Project close-out | Files delivered in the agreed format, followed by a feedback review to keep the translation memory up to date. |
The translation memory runs continuously in the background. Recurring modules from manuals and catalogues, such as safety notices, maintenance instructions or component descriptions, are translated consistently across every language. That prevents inconsistencies in style between two machines from the same product range.
The result
Consistent terminology, reliable deadlines, even under express
Three effects are measurable for Becker in day-to-day operation, and they're exactly the points that make the difference in technical documentation:
Uniform specialist terminology across every language, manual after manual. Translation memory and QA methods keep the style consistent throughout.
Becker always works with the same specialist translator team. Projects go to the specialists who know the product range.
On-time delivery, even on short notice. Time-critical, complex mechanical-engineering texts are delivered reliably, thanks to the close relationship with the dedicated translators.
What Becker says
A voice from the technical design department
Our company philosophy is to find out what our customers' goals are, understand them, and achieve them effectively. That's exactly how it works with tolingo too. By now we have a dedicated specialist translator team working for us. That's an enormous help, especially when things need to move fast.
Download the case study
The Becker story as a PDF, three pages, print ready
The compact version of this case study, with a four-stage process diagram, customer testimonial and key facts, is available as a three-page PDF. Good for sharing internally, for sales conversations, or as a reference for a similar technical-documentation enquiry.
3 pages · four-stage process · key facts · customer testimonial
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What the workflow is technically built on
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~10 minutes (within business hours) · ISO 17100 · dedicated team per language pair