Providing Translation and Interpreter Services since 2003
Julie McKee loved her career in Marketing Communications with an Illinois company that manufactured water pollution control equipment. She felt she could make a difference in the world.
Having worked for several years in Chicago-area broadcasting (both radio and television) her writing, advertising and event planning skills led to the job in private industry.
“I love the communications field,” McKee says. “Radio and television were exciting. But the world of Business was a game-changer!” One of her responsibilities at the corporate job was to prepare presentations for international conferences. There was one serious glitch: The engineers and presenters spoke only English. The audiences were international.
“Our engineers presented and distributed their papers in English. When I asked why we didn’t translate any of our presentations (or at least provide interpreters) I was told: ‘Everyone at these conferences speaks English.’ The problem was, that wasn’t always the case.”
McKee’s employer didn’t realize that while a potential customer may be functional in English, “Functional” is not the same as “Fluent.” So much of the message would be missed.
“At a conference in Canada I watched an audience literally fall asleep while my colleague discussed our equipment in English. During the Q&A there were almost no questions. It cost my employer thousands of dollars for us to attend that conference, and for what? That was the day I knew where my future was headed.”
Before long, McKee was orchestrating the translation of technical papers and working hard to find translators who understood the language of her employer’s very specialized industry. Within a year she was working at night, on her own time, to train voice talent to localize her employer’s many videos into other languages.
Word began to spread that McKee had technical translators, interpreters, and even voice talent. Friends at other companies began calling her to see if she could help them. With her employer’s blessing, she resigned her position and launched Pacolet International Communication in November, 2003. Incorporating less than two years later.
“We work with such a variety of customers,” she explains. “Heavy equipment manufacturers, electronics, banks, hospitals… We did a series of tri-lingual videos for an aerospace giant. Several well known chemical companies work with us on a regular basis.”
An international fast-food chain has relied on McKee to provide conference interpreters for training seminars in the United States, as well as in China, Turkey, Egypt, Mexico and Spain.
Pacolet International Translation (Pacolet International Communication, Inc.) currently has more than 500 professional translators and interpreters in more than 50 languages.
“As long as American companies do businesses overseas, we’re here to help them communicate with customers and employees around the world. ” McKee says.
How Can We Help You?
- Our translators specialize in specific areas of expertise. We assign your project to the translator who understands the language and jargon of your industry. Medical translation by medical translators; Environmental translation by environmental translators; and so on.
- We work ONLY with “Accredited” professional translators. Our staff are native speakers of the languages they provide. Professional, degreed, and specialized, they are not hobby-linguists trying to fit your project into their schedule on weekends or after work.
- Language is always evolving. Professional translators keep up to date with changes in language – both as it is spoken in their home countries – and the constant changes in technical terminology. This dedication is why you can trust our translators and interpreters to do your projects right. (See “Bloopers”)
We Are Your Partner – Not Just Your Vendor
We often meet face to face with clients to understand projects, terminology and develop strong relationships. We partner with our customers to become one team. That fact has kept many customers coming back to us time and again for more than twenty years!
Customer Testimonial: “We have worked with Pacolet International since 2004…They translate our manuals into 23 languages and provide conference interpreters for us worldwide. Pacolet International… is an integral part of our communications team.” – Heather Z., Marketing Director, Restaurant Appliance Manufacturer
