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The brochures and publications lying on the conference room table at Zahn-Klicka-Hill Inc. are a testament to the globalization of business. Portfolios, annual reports and brochures in languages as diverse as French, Dutch, Polish and Chinese abound.
For any company, globalization can be an exciting and profitable venture. Yet communicating with foreign employees and shareholders can be a difficult and sometimes terrifying process.
Don Hill's job is to calm those fears. As vice president and part-owner of Zahn-Klicka-Hill Inc., a typography and graphic design firm, Hill says a growing part of his business involves translation of company literature.
Although his company has been providing foreign language services for more than 25 years, Hill says the recent growth of the market is phenomenal.
"Five years ago, foreign language work made up 5 to 10 percent of our business," Hill says. "Now, it makes up 30 to 35 percent of our work."
Hill declined to disclose annual revenue.
For Zahn-Micka-Hill, this growth is key to the survival of the firm. Once admired for their craftsmanship in arranging and spacing type, typographers are now finding themselves replaced by new technology that makes it easier and much less expensive for companies...