How did tradutec come to be?

		Barbara Zander How did it start? Abitur (university entry qualification), apprenticeship to become a dental assistant, followed by a training course to become a dental hygienist at the Universities of Frankfurt and Milan, which didn’t qualify me to study dentistry, so that I buried this dream and turned to digging instead. I began a degree in prehistory and ancient history, ethnology and geology at the University of Cologne and for my dissertation I moved back to Italy and spent an exciting time digging and evaluating finds at the Archaeological Museum in Varese. To earn some money, I also worked in a practical clinic in Varese and Milan. Then my father passed away suddenly, which meant I had to return to Germany – first to Cologne and later to Hamburg. Because more and more cutbacks were being made in the cultural sector, I had to change careers, which ultimately ended in me doing the Chamber of Industry and Commerce’s examination to become a translator and interpreter for Italian. Where did I go from there? Marriage, two children, freelancing for a translation agency in Hamburg in which I met my current colleague and tradutec partner Johan Verstraete in the midst of documents from photocopiers and other machines in 1991. In 1992, I went freelance and in 1993 I moved to Cologne and founded tradutec with Johan. And there we remain and we continue to love our work!
		Johan Verstraete I was born and raised on the Belgium North Sea Coast. I then moved to Antwerp to study translation at the Lessius Hogeschool, which was still called KVH at that time (1985 – 1989). After successfully graduating as a licenciaat vertaler for Dutch, German and Russian (licensed translator/Diplomübersetzer), I studied computer linguistics at the University of Antwerp for another year. Subsequently, I was called on to perform my military service and spent eight months of this in Cologne. In 1991, I then went to Hamburg where I met Barbara Zander. After frequent commuting between Hamburg and Cologne, it was time for another move – this time to Cologne. Key points: Native language Dutch 1985 – 1989: Translation degree in German and Russian at the Lessius Hogeschool Antwerp Graduation as a licenciaat vertaler (licensed translator/Diplomübersetzer) 1989 – 1990: Degree in computer linguistics at the University of Antwerp 1990 – 1991: Military service 1991 – 1994: Freelance translator in Hamburg 1994 – 2010: tradutec - Cologne