This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
bac lourd
escalier de convivialité
This question was closed without grading. Reason: Answer found elsewhere
Sep 30, 2017 12:19
6 yrs ago
16 viewers *
French term

UTE

French to English Other Other not sure
This is from a financial auditor's report discussing a plane manufacturer's contract.
This short paragraph is the only time UTE is mentioned in the report. The best I can find is an electricity regulatory agency, but that doesn't seem to fit the context.

Ce contrat est inclus dans [an organization's information sheet regarding a specific aircraft] qui prevoit que les coûts et revenus cumulatifs relatifs à ce contrat à fin 2003 sont transférés à *** l'UTE *** au fur et à mesure de la livraison des avoins. Les coûts encourus et revenus perçus à partir de 2004 au titre de ce contrat sont transférés à *** l'UTE *** au cours du même exercice. La provisioni DMC s'élève à 177 millions d'euros au 31 Decembre 2006 et est reprise au même rythme que les coûts et revenus antérieurs à 2005 et transférés à *** l'UTE ***.
Proposed translations (English)
5 UTE
3 +1 UTE Unité Technique d’Exécution /technical execution unit
4 joint venture
References
UTE

Discussion

Charles Davis Oct 1, 2017:
If there's a Spanish connection, as there clearly is, since you say that "the entity exists under Spanish law", then UTE in the Spanish sense of Joint Venture makes sense in the passage you've quoted. If they set up the Joint Venture in Spain it will have been constituted under a name that begins "UTE", so it's not implausible that they would use this as a short form of the name of the JV.

Here are a couple of examples of UTEs from Spain in previous questions. Here's one called UTE Siemens/Cap Gemini (illustrating the fact that the companies in the JV are by no means always Spanish:
https://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/business_comme...

And another called UTE Montaje Cobre las Cruces:
https://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/construction_c...
Jana Cole (asker) Oct 1, 2017:
You know I can't reveal company names here. What made this situation so odd is that I had to infer, for want of a better word, that the Spanish translation is the right one. It's really just my best guess, although I believe it's right. I couldn't have given you any more context. You would have had to read the entire document in order to "infer" it as I did. It's never stated outright in the document - just those instances of the acronym, with no explanation or clue of what it is anywhere else in the document.
writeaway Oct 1, 2017:
More proof why context is so essential. Which UTE company is it? A household name?
Charles Davis Oct 1, 2017:
Ah, OK, so the UTE is Spanish. Presumably the well-known American company is in a joint venture with one or more Spanish companies, if the UTE is constituted under Spanish law, but it doesn't matter at this point. Glad you found your answer.
Jana Cole (asker) Oct 1, 2017:
It's an American company. A household name. Making this all the more confusing.
Charles Davis Oct 1, 2017:
If only you'd said it was a Spanish company! UTE is a standard abbreviation in Spain and from your description of the context it fits. It actually stands for Unión Temporal de Empresas (that's the term used in Spanish law). It's usually translated simply as "joint venture" ("contractual" is superfluous).
Jana Cole (asker) Oct 1, 2017:
This one is pretty odd Here's what I decided to go with: Unión Transitoria de Empresas = Contractual Joint Venture. This was the only translation that was even close to the context. So, I did a little research on this business structure. Apparently, it involves sharing sales information between the cooperating companies, which fits the context exactly. The entity exists under Spanish law, and I couldn't find a description in French or English (Luckily I can read a little Spanish). I did find a couple of translations of the term into English (Contractual Joint Venture, Temporary Union of Companies). I never found any translation of this term in French. If you read the entire document, you gradually realize that the companies involved are from several countries from, literally, all over the world, west and east, so it's plausable that a Spanish acronym might be used. The client is not available. I have to do the best I can with what I have to work with. So, I added a footnote to explain my choice.
Charles Davis Oct 1, 2017:
@Tony I think Johannes's question is reasonable. I really don't believe it's likely that this refers to the Union Technique de l'Electricité, but we have yet to discover what else it might refer to. Unless the context has something to do with Haiti, in which case writeaway's answer must be right, we have no evidence at the moment that a relevant entity called an Union Technique d'Exécution exists in France. Of course there might be an entity with that name, but it's just a guess (unless we're in Haiti). So it's not unreasonable to cast about for alternatives. I must admit that I've had no success there, so at the moment I don't feel I have any basis for agreeing or disagreeing with anyone.
Johannes Gleim Sep 30, 2017:
@ Tony I expect an answer from the asker. He or his client may be the only ones who know the kind of this organisation and whether "UTE" was (in 2003!) a French company or a Haitian company or from elsewhere.
Tony M Sep 30, 2017:
@ Johannes Trying to shoehorn this into some kind of connection with electricity is frankly pointless here; regardless of the wider context, you only have to look at the text extract given to see that it can't be anything to do with an electrical body, e.g.

"...qui prevoit que les coûts et revenus cumulatifs relatifs à ce contrat à fin 2003 sont transférés à l'UTE"
Johannes Gleim Sep 30, 2017:
@ musilang What is the task of UTE acc. the contract? Does it includes approval or standardisation work for electrical installations in airplanes? Is "UTE" a genuine French organisation or from abroad, e.g. Haiti?

If you cannot answer the questions, please ask the client for the full name, the purpose of the company and the country of origin!

BTW, why you need the full name? Please note, that neither names are translated mor the corresponding acronym.
Charles Davis Sep 30, 2017:
But... If the ST is from France but about Haiti, then it could well be right. The Haitian Unité Technique d'Exécution is a government agency, which could fit the context, depending on who's buying the plane.
Charles Davis Sep 30, 2017:
@writeaway Yes, I had found it myself, and thought it looked promising, which is why I asked about the country of origin. If the text had been from/about Haiti I would have posted it. The only non-Haitian references I can find relate to overseas development (as in your first ref.), which seems a long way from buying aircraft.

There's also Unité Technique d'Exploitation, which is found in Belgium, and possibly France too; I haven't checked.
writeaway Sep 30, 2017:
UTE Unité Technique d’Exécution is what I found and posted. It seems to be the term. It found it on a French site and also posted a Haitian reference. Naturally more references are out there if needed.
Charles Davis Sep 30, 2017:
Thanks! It helps to narrow down the possibilities.
Jana Cole (asker) Sep 30, 2017:
It's from France.
Charles Davis Sep 30, 2017:
Source country? Is this from France or from another French-speaking country?

Proposed translations

+1
23 mins

UTE Unité Technique d’Exécution /technical execution unit

if this fits your context

http://www.grefco.net/wp-content/Rapport-final-PA_FMR.pdf

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 24 mins (2017-09-30 12:44:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

IDB - Rehabilitating Basic Infrastructure
www.iadb.org/en/news/rehabilitating-basic-infrastructure,14...
The Basic Economic Infrastructure Rehabilitation Program (PREIEB) is administered by the Technical Execution Unit (UTE) of Haiti's Ministry of the Economy ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 25 mins (2017-09-30 12:44:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Technical Execution Unit. Caps are probably better.
Peer comment(s):
agree Rachel Fell : seems most likely
2 hrs
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : ah, so turns out it's probably a Spanish acronym after all that!//yep. we've all done it!
3 hrs
so it seems. I did state if this fits your context. teach me for falling into the 'guess what this is' trap.
neutral philgoddard : Sorry, but I think this is very unlikely. One of your references is an internal abbreviation from a development agency, and the other from Haitian politics. This is about a manufacturer.
21 hrs
Explanation: if this fits your context. I did state that first and now we know that ALL of us were wrong
Something went wrong...
8 hrs

UTE

Company names and acronyms are not translated, except for cases where the organisation has 2 or more official languages like IEC (International Electrical Commission) = CEI (Commission d'Électricité Internationale).

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs (2017-10-01 07:04:26 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

For example:

The French organisation for standardisation, AFNOR, has also an English page and figures under the same label:
http://www.afnor.org/implantations-afnor/
http://www.afnor.org/en/find-us/


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs (2017-10-01 07:11:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or

Alstom (originally as Alsthom) was formed from a merger between Compagnie Française Thomson Houston and the Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques in 1928; significant acquisitions included the Constructions Electriques de France (1932), shipbuilder Chantiers de l'Atlantique (1976), and parts of ACEC SA (Belgium, late 1980s). A merger with parts of the General Electric Company plc (UK) formed GEC-Alsthom in 1989; the company became Alstom in 1998.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alstom

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 hrs (2017-10-01 09:15:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You do not need to know the signification of the acronym for translating the phrase. It's no task of translators to search for it, if the editor considers not being necessary to add the full name.

Anyway you may ask the client or add a corresponding note or comment. That's sufficient.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day6 hrs (2017-10-01 19:05:22 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

At the end musilang provided the following term: "Unión Transitoria de Empresas"

UTE stands for Unión Transitoria de Empresas (Argentina)
https://www.acronymfinder.com/Unión-Transitoria-de-Empresas-...

Diccionario español-inglés
unión transitoria de empresas sustantivo, femenino
joint venture s
http://www.linguee.es/espanol-ingles/traduccion/unión transi...

Charles added a Spanish synonym: "Unión Temporal de Empresas".

UTE es un acrónimo usado en España designado a Unión Temporal de Empresas, sistema por el cual dos o más empresas se unen para realizar una obra o prestar un servicio determinado; se constituyen como una única empresa temporalmente mientras dure la obra, normalmente de gran porte.
https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unión_Temporal_de_Empresas

Esta unión temporal de empresas poseerá el 80% de la sociedad. 
fccconstruccion.com
This joint venture will hold an 80% stake in thecompany. 
fccconstruccion.com

[...] incluida en el objeto social determina la extinción de la Unión Temporal de Empresas. 
invest-vci.com
[...] activity of the Temporary Business Association is to suppose the termination of the same. 
http://www.linguee.com/spanish-english/translation/unión tem...

So we should go with "joint venture" and not ask for the participants as this piece of information may be confidential.

I first thought "UTE" would be an acronym for a certain company name, what made it superfluous to search for the proper name as many thousands of companies exits with these sigles and as acronyms for companies are normal invariable, what allows translation without
knowing the signification (in the reference comment I cited only examples for such sigles, without pretending having found the correct signification).

Now I have to admit that it is quite different. The asker is right to ask how to call such associations.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : This doesn't seem to be a 'proper name' as such, simply a local acronym, and it is unhelpful to the reader not to translate the name of a local organization, or at the very least, provide an explanation.
11 hrs
I would advice the asker to ask the client rather than inviting the community to guess. // If anybody knows the proper name, then the client. We only can guess, and this is no really help.
neutral writeaway : 100% sure while everyone else wondered and questioned. Turns out this is also 100% wrong/yes we all got it wrong. But I did start with "if this fits your context"
20 hrs
Turns out that your suggestion was also wrong as well as the peers who agreed.
Something went wrong...
3 days 22 hrs

joint venture

For the records:

According to the added context provided by the asker we should go with "joint venture". Participants may not be disclosed as being confidential.

I first thought "UTE" would be an acronym for a certain company name,
But as it refers to a association, it is useful to ask how to call such associations.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 days (2017-10-04 13:30:36 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

@ Gallagy:

To answer your 2nd question: KudoZ is aimed to construct a glossary from questions and answers to help translators looking for an appropriate translation. This is possible, if the glossary format is maintained. Asker and the selected peers are encouraged to close the question by adding the terms to the glossary.

I know not having found this solution, but will allow the asker to expand the glossary accordingly.
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

24 mins
Reference:

UTE

Buts de l’UTEModifier

Créée en 1907, l’UTE, originairement appelée « Union des syndicats de l'électricité (USE) », est issue de la volonté du « Syndicat professionnel des industries électriques » et du « Syndicat professionnel des usines d'électricité » de créer une fédération afin d'étudier en commun les questions relatives au développement des industries qu'ils représentent.

Au 1er janvier 2014, les activités opérationnelles de l'UTE ont été transférée à l'AFNOR[1]. L'UTE conserve cependant l'aspect associatif et représentatifs des acteurs de l'électrotechnique français.

Forme juridique

Domaine de normalisationModifier

L’UTE est le bureau de normalisation de l'électricité, comprenant les domaines suivants :

l'électroniquel'électrotechniquel'automatiquela communication (téléphonie, réseaux informatiques, domotique…)Au niveau mondialModifier

L’UTE était le Comité électrotechnique français (CEF), c'est-à-dire le représentant de la France au sein des organismes internationaux de normalisation électrique, ce rôle a été pris par l'AFNOR au 1er janvier 2014. Par conséquent, cette dernière a hérité le siège de l’UTE auprès de la Commission électrotechnique internationale (CEI) et duComité européen de normalisation électrotechnique (CENELEC).
https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_technique_de_l'électri...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2017-09-30 19:43:11 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

LES MISSIONS DE L’UTE JUSQU’EN DECEMBRE 2013
 
L’UTE regroupe l’ensemble des parties prenantes représentatives des intérêts français du domaine de la normalisation des électrotechnologies.
 
Depuis sa création en 1907 jusqu’en 2013, ces parties prenantes, qui constituent le Comité Électrotechnique Français, ont confié à l’UTE, membre fondateur des organisations internationales non gouvernementales de normalisation - la Commission Électrotechnique Internationale(IEC) et le Comité Européen de Normalisation Électrotechnique(CENELEC) – la mission de membre français de ces organisations.
 
A partir de 2014, en application de la décision de l’Assemblée Générale du 14 décembre 2013, qui font suite aux accords de médiation du 4 décembre 2012 signés entre l’UTE, l’Association française de normalisation (AFNOR) et les Pouvoirs Publics pour mettre en œuvre le décret n°2009-697, l’Association française de normalisation devient le membre français de la CEI et du CENELEC, abrite l’instance de travail du Comité Électrotechnique Français (CEF), dont les membres sont proposés par l’UTE. 
 
Par conséquent, les activités opérationnelles de normalisation sont transférées à la date du 1 janvier 2014 à AFNOR, qui, en particulier, abrite le secrétariat du CEF.
http://www.ute-asso.fr/QUI SOMMES NOUS.aspx

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs (2017-10-01 07:10:18 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or

Alstom (originally as Alsthom) was formed from a merger between Compagnie Française Thomson Houston and the Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques in 1928; significant acquisitions included the Constructions Electriques de France (1932), shipbuilder Chantiers de l'Atlantique (1976), and parts of ACEC SA (Belgium, late 1980s). A merger with parts of the General Electric Company plc (UK) formed GEC-Alsthom in 1989; the company became Alstom in 1998.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alstom
Peer comments on this reference comment:
disagree Tony M : Amounts to wild over-interpretation, and extremely unlikely here in Asker's given context (basically finance).
5 mins
Acc. the asker's Note the text is from France (not from Haiti). It's the only French organisation I know. All planes comprise electrical installations and may be subject to approval by UTE. // Anyway, names and acronyms are not translated.
Something went wrong...
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search