Interview with Roel Dreve, owner of Global Roel Media, about 25 years of collaboration

Can you tell us some more about your company and why you started working with us 25 years ago? What were the most important considerations for you at the time?

Global Roel Media is the publisher behind the market-leading international trade journal Mushroom Business, a publication for professionals active in the mushroom growing sector worldwide. We already knew AgroLingua when the English-language version of the journal was launched in 2003 by Reed Business (I was editor-in-chief at the time). Back then, the translators still worked for Fancom – who also advertises in Mushroom Business – so they were familiar with ‘mushroom jargon’. We needed to know the translations would be correct, so it was logical to work with AgroLingua.

How has the working partnership developed over the years in your experience? Have you noticed any major changes or improvements?

Sue has been involved with the publication right from the very beginning. Other people sometimes did the translations, but she was usually the first point of contact and the best translator anyway. When my own publishing house took over the publications in 2010, I never considered finding another translation agency but immediately continued the partnership.

Are there any specific moments or projects that stand out?

We are currently working on the 130th edition of Mushroom Business, which appears six times a year with unceasing regularity. The publication itself IS the project and getting the editions literally rolling off the presses is THE moment every time. We meet up occasionally (usually at the Mushroom Days international trade show) and mainly communicate by e-mail – well into the thousands by now – but our communication is always warm and constructive and we really understand each other well.

What are the most important benefits of our partnership for your business? Which aspects of our collaboration do you value most?

It’s very reassuring to have a ‘dedicated’ translator for my publication. Someone who knows this niche sector and the target group, the tone of voice and the terminology and who also reads the texts critically. Sue is often the first person after me who reads the articles or columns and she is not afraid to be critical if necessary or, for example, to suggest alternatives for headlines. She is also ‘dedicated’ in the sense that translating articles at unusual times or at the weekend is never a problem if we threaten to fall behind the schedule with the deadlines again!

My contact with the other team members at AgroLingua has always been excellent as well, clear and personal. That is an especially important aspect for me. Other translation agencies sometimes approach me, but I know from experience that we are in the right hands with AgroLingua!