Certification Acquisition for the SOCOTEC Group strengthens its position in Europe and Asia

The SOCOTEC Group, which is a major global player in risk management and performance improvement, has announced the acquisition on 19 December 2012 of Certification International Ltd, a leading British management systems certification company. This acquisition enhances the SOCOTEC Group’s worldwide offering of management system certification services. Certification International was founded by James Pymer in 1995 and until now was owned principally by the Pymer family and a Singaporean partner. It conducts business in Europe and Asia through 6 subsidiaries (in the United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, China and India) and 11 agents, with a network of 500 auditors and experts. With their proven methodology, know-how and multinational experience, Certification International’s subsidiaries have UKAS*, SAC* and PAO* accreditations, and mainly provide ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, ISO 22001, ISO 27001 and soon ISO 50001 certification services. Certification International, which is based in Swindon, between Bristol and London, has sales in excess of €9 million, including 45% in Japan, 31% in Singapore, 13% in the United Kingdom, 9% in the Philippines and 1% in China. As Vincent Oudin, Chairman of SOCOTEC Group’s Executive Board, emphasises: “This acquisition forms part of the Group’s global development strategy and will enable us to speed up the development of our systems certification business on an international scale, to strengthen our position in Asia where we have a presence in the oil industry, and to expand the services we offer to our 100,000 customers.” Certification International is attached to the SOCOTEC Group’s international operations managed by Emmanuel Petit. It will continue to operate under the general management of John Pymer.