From One Idea to a Story We’re Writing Together

If Leemeta were a person, it would now be just old enough to confidently claim it knows everything – and still young enough for everyone else to tell it otherwise. 

But since Leemeta is a company, we’ve spent those 20 years doing something else: translating, learning, evolving, making the occasional mistake, fixing it, and above all, constantly looking for better solutions.

So this year, we had a very good reason to celebrate.

Leemeta turned 20.

And yes, we celebrated exactly as a milestone like this deserves.

It All Started with an Idea

Twenty years ago, we didn’t have all the solutions, technologies and processes we now take for granted.

But we did have an idea.

An idea for a slightly different kind of translation agency.

One where translation wasn’t simply about translating a file and sending it back to the client. We wanted to think beyond the words: What does the client actually need, and how can we save them as much work as possible?

That approach eventually led to our Turnkey Translations® – a complete process covering everything from document preparation and translation to quality checks and final formatting.

To make a long story short: you send us the document, and we make sure you don’t have to learn InDesign just to get it translated. 

By the Way, Why “Leemeta”?

And no, there’s no Lee or Meta behind the name.

When we were looking for a name for a slightly different kind of translation agency, we wanted the name itself to be a little different too. We took limeta – the Slovenian word for lime – gave it a more international twist, and Leemeta was born.

Only later did we discover that leemeta means “twice” in some languages and even “adjective” in others.

Had we spent too much time analysing every possible meaning back then, we’d probably still be choosing a name today. 

Almost Everything Has Changed in 20 Years

The tools we use, the documents we work with, the way we work and our clients’ expectations are very different today than they were 20 years ago. And in recent years, artificial intelligence has become part of our everyday work too.

But one thing hasn’t changed.

There are people behind every project.

Colleagues, translators and partners who search for exactly the right words, tackle complicated documents and take on projects that sometimes prompt the immediate reaction:

“Right. Okay. How are we going to solve this one?”

And, of course, there are our clients – some of whom trusted us with their first document years ago and still trust us with their projects today.

That’s why 20 years of Leemeta isn’t just a story about translations. It’s a story about people, collaboration, ideas and all those challenges that made us scratch our heads for a moment before finding a solution.

As we like to say: Challenges, not obstacles.

What About the Next 20 Years?

When we started, we probably never imagined that one day, alongside translators, proofreaders and graphic designers, we’d also be talking about artificial intelligence and digital translation assistants.

So we won’t be too confident in predicting what the next 20 years will bring.

What we do want to keep is what Leemeta was built on in the first place: curiosity, the drive to find better solutions, and people who aren’t afraid of an unusual challenge.

After 20 years, we’re certainly not going to say we’ve reached the finish line.

But we can take a moment to look back and say:

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Thank you to all our colleagues, translators, partners and clients who have been – and continue to be – part of our story.

Now, onwards.

Because apparently, there’s still plenty left to translate.