Bernard Hauffman, the founder of Multilinguist, was born in 1969 in Liege to Dutch speaking parents. He speaks both official languages at native level… As a child, he was often in contact with Germans and learned German in “immersion” long before the term was used in that context. He began learning English at school at the age of 11.

He graduated at Charlemagne College obtaining a Modern Languages Teaching Degree in June 1994.

Various sales functions have allowed him to put his multilingual skills into practice throughout his career.

He worked for 10 years in sales and technical support at Braive Instruments/ Elcometer Elcometer Limited, leading suppliers of coating, concrete and metal detection testing machines and inspection equipment. This was where he built up his technical knowledge of measurement based quality control.

Elcometer was looking for a translation office that would provide professional translation in Dutch and French. Bernard Hauffman decided to start the “Paintlation” project at Smart with his wife Antoinette. He started translating brochures, datasheets, catalogues, user manuals, firmwares, softwares, etc. He wrote and translated mail, e-mails and PowerPoint presentations. He offered training on the various coating testing and measuring methods. His pedagogical background allows him to synthesize, share and explain information with ease in several languages.

News travelled fast. Corelio group, Les Editions de l'Avenir, RTBF and lolliPop advertising agency all contacted him for various translations.

In November 2011, Bernard started Multilinguist with some freelance collaborators.