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Manufacturing translation

Every crew trained, every market served

Get safety training, manuals, packaging, and websites translated by qualified linguists, aligned with your production schedule.

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30+ years of experience translating for regulated industries ISO 17100:2015 ISO 9001:2015 ISO 18587:2017
Three warehouse workers in hard hats and safety vests review a tablet together
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires you to train your workers in a language and vocabulary they can understand, and that requirement follows every crew you hire and every language they bring.
Safety Training Operator Manuals Machine Instructions Onboarding Internal Communications

Translation that keeps pace with production

When a product changes, everything written about it has to change too, in every language you use, and the production line sets the dates. Argo Translation is staffed for that pace: qualified linguists translate, an editor reviews the work before completion, and one project manager is accountable for your project from handoff to delivery, with 99.9% of projects arriving on time.

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How it works

Three steps from your source files to the shop floor

Step 1

Send the files and the dates

Share the manuals, modules, or announcements, the languages you need, and the deadline.

Step 2

Linguists translate in your format

A qualified linguist translates, a second linguist reviews, and the files are returned matching their original format.

Step 3

The line starts on time

Training is delivered to the shop floor on time, and the operator's manual ships with the machine.

Testimonials

What our customers are saying

"There is nothing more disengaging than seeing a communication that you don't understand. There is an empowerment that you get when you receive it in your own language."
Communications Manager Caterpillar
"Before we started with Argo Translation we had terrible luck with translation vendors. ... I told my manager, I'm going to find someone that's reliable. Argo Translation have been super consistent. They're always on-time."
Graphic Designer OMI Industries
"Argo Translation's project management team is an all-star team of professionals, hands-down. When I send a request for a proposal, I get a response right away (usually within an hour)... Projects always end on time, and with no surprises."
Senior Technical Writer QSC
Three women in safety vests review a laptop on a factory floor

A.O. Smith case study

How A.O. Smith connects with their employees in their own languages

A.O. Smith runs its employee communications in five languages through Argo Translation. When its plant in Mexico received an award, senior leaders in Milwaukee followed the Spanish ceremony using translated English scripts, and the CEO's remarks were dubbed into Spanish in real time for the employees in the room.

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Two paths

Manufacturing with and without a translation partner

Without a partner

A bilingual supervisor relays the safety training secondhand.

The machine ships without instructions in the destination language.

Nobody starts the translation until it's too late for the shipment or the training day.

Packaging copy goes through a free tool, and nobody checks the result.

Company news goes out in English, and part of the workforce misses it.

With a partner

Workers train from materials written in their own language.

Instructions travel with the machine, in the buyer's own language.

Your project manager sets dates around start-of-production.

Linguists translate the packaging, and an editor signs off before print.

Company news goes out in every language, and nobody misses it.

Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to know about manufacturing translation

Does OSHA require us to translate our safety data sheets and labels?
No. OSHA requires labels and safety data sheets in English, and other languages are permitted alongside. The language obligation sits on training: OSHA's position is that you must instruct employees in a language and vocabulary they can understand, and OSHA can cite a failure as a serious violation.
What languages do we need for products sold outside the US?
It depends on the market. EU machinery rules require the instructions that accompany a machine to be in the official language or languages of the country where it goes on the market, with one exception: maintenance instructions meant only for the specialized technicians you designate can stay in a single EU language those technicians understand. Mexico requires Spanish labeling under its official standards before most retail products can be sold, and Quebec requires French on consumer-product labels, directions for use, and any document supplied with the product. Your project manager scopes the languages market by market when you send the project.
What does manufacturing translation cost?
Documents are priced per word, and the rate depends on the language, the technical subject matter, and the turnaround. You pay per minute for interpretation, and the rate depends on the format: phone or video. There's a recurring monthly minimum, no setup fee, and no contract. Translation memory, a database of every sentence you've already paid for, discounts those sentences when they come up again.
Can you work in our source files and keep the layout?
Yes. Send the native files from your authoring tools, and desktop publishing returns each language in your original layout. String and export files from your LMS or content management system (CMS) go back in the structure they arrived in, so what you import doesn't break.
How do you keep part names and terminology consistent across manuals?
A glossary built for your product line locks each term to one approved translation, and translation memory reuses approved wording across every manual and revision. A human editor checks the work against both, which is how the same part keeps the same name from the quick-start card to the service manual.

Get a quote on your next manufacturing project

Tell us what you need translated, the languages involved, and your production deadlines. The quote is free, and it comes with a delivery plan you can count on.

Request a Quote Read the A.O. Smith Case Study