Tuesday, September 12, 2006

It's all Chinese to me.

One of the companies I do work for owns a manufacturing plant in China. I often get press releases or stories from their Chinese Corporate Communications person, and although they’re written in English, they still need a lot of smoothing out to become more readable, especially to the American audiences.

It’s a job I love. Here’s an example of one story I worked on today; what she sent me is first, followed by what I did with it. (For privacy, I’m calling the company ABC)

Her version:

ABC company honored with “China Quality Tetrapod”

Further Enhanced ABC’s Business Integrity and Quality Authority

Early 2006, ABC, along with other 9 well-known enterprises, was granted “China Quality Tetrapod” for its outstanding quality management. This reward will further enhance the business integrity and quality authority of the company. In July, the 2.1-meter-high bronze tetrapod was open to visitors in the manufacturing plant in Guangzhou, China.

Ever since entering China marketplace, ABC has taken quality management as one of our top priorities. Up to now ABC has obtained a number of certifications, such as the ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001:1996, GMP and HACCP. In addition, ABC QA Lab has obtained the accreditation authorized by China National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (CNAL). ABC is the only DS company to win this authorization.

About “China Quality Tetrapod”

Since 2004, China Association for Quality started up the campaign of awarding China Quality Tetrapod. The purpose of this campaign is to commend enterprises with outstanding performance in quality management, spread their advanced corporate cultures, as well as establish the idea of Quality is the Lifeline of a Company. Each year, hundreds of enterprises from all industries run for this award. An independent and candid auditing will decide who would be the final winners.

Tetrapod (or “Ding” in Chinese language), a bronze vessel with a long history going back to Shang Dynasty (1,066 BC), gradually evolved to be recognized as the symbol of authoritativeness, trustworthiness and auspice in ancient China.

My version:

ABC honored with prestigious quality award

Earlier this year ABC was one of only 10 companies in their country to be honored with the prestigious China Quality Tetrapod award, which recognizes an organization’s outstanding performance in quality management.

The tetrapod (or “ding” in Chinese) is a four-footed bronze vessel with a long history going all the way back to the Shang Dynasty (1066 BC). Over the centuries the tetrapod has become a symbol of authoritativeness, trustworthiness, and integrity to the Chinese people.

Hundreds of competitors
In 2004, the China Association for Quality, an organization that encourages and promotes high quality standards for Chinese companies, began using this time-honored icon for its national award program. Each year, hundreds of corporations from all types of industries compete for the China Quality Tetrapod award; an independent auditing team determines who will be the final winners.

ABC’s prize, a 2.1-meter-high bronze vessel, has been put on display at their Guangzhou manufacturing plant for all visitors to see.

Quality first
“Receiving the China Quality Tetrapod is a great honor for us and will surely enhance our reputation for quality and integrity,” says Sue Smith, Corporate Communications Director for ABC. “We strongly support the China Association for Quality’s belief that quality is the lifeline of a company, and it has been one of our top priorities since we first entered the marketplace.”

In addition to the Tetrapod award, ABC has achieved a significant number of important certifications, including ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001:1996, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and HACCP (Q: what does this stand for?).

The ABC Quality Assurance (QA) Lab has also obtained accreditation from the China National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (CNAL). It is the only direct sales company in the country to have achieved this distinction.

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Of course, my editor hasn’t seen my version yet, but he’s usually pretty happy with what I do on these, so hopefully, this will fly without too much trouble.

Time spent: 1.5 hours