The national award, presented in Birmingham on Friday, 22 May, recognises Comtec's approach to using AI in the delivery of localisation services. Rather than using AI as a replacement for professional linguists, Comtec has built its approach around careful use of technology, strong quality standards and expert human input.
Comtec works with organisations and agencies that need to adapt content for different languages, markets and cultures. The company supports clients across more than 200 languages through a global network of more than 4,000 specialist linguists.
Its award-winning approach is reflected across its services, from Pronto, its self-service AI translation platform, and MTAP, its machine translation with automated post-editing service, through to machine translation with human post-editing, human review and fully human-led translation.
The aim is to help clients choose the right level of AI and human expertise for each type of content. Some projects need speed, scale and cost-efficiency. Others need specialist review, market knowledge or a fully human approach. Across all of these options, Comtec's linguists remain central to terminology, tone of voice, style, cultural nuance and quality.
The award also reflects Comtec's wider values as an independent Warwickshire business and the first UK translation company to achieve B Corp certification. As a B Corp, Comtec has committed to high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.
Comtec has also tried to take an open and responsible approach to the impact of AI on the translation industry. In 2025, the company published The State of AI in Localisation, based on 812 responses from linguists, agency professionals and people who commission translation. The research explored AI adoption, quality concerns, governance gaps and the pressures felt by professional linguists.
Sophie Howe, Chief Executive of Comtec Translations, said: "We are really proud to win this award, especially as a Warwickshire business being recognised nationally for the way we are responding to AI.
"AI is changing the translation industry very quickly, but for us the answer was never to remove linguists from the process. It was to think carefully about where technology adds value, where human expertise is still essential, and how we can combine the two responsibly.
"Our clients trust us with content in languages they often cannot read themselves, so quality, tone of voice and cultural nuance really matter. Our linguists sit at the heart of that. This award recognises the approach we have taken: using AI carefully, while protecting the professional expertise that makes good localisation possible. "As a B Corp, this matters to us. We want to adapt to new technology in a way that is transparent, ethical and respectful of the people whose skills our clients rely on."
Comtec's AI-led services are already helping clients improve turnaround times, reduce costs and create more consistent multilingual content, while keeping expert human review available for content that needs it.
The company will continue to develop its localisation services around the principle that AI should support, not replace, professional linguistic expertise.
