Kiwa strengthens global presence with key addition of companies in US, UK and China
05 November 2024
Rijswijk, 04 November 2024 - Kiwa has today announced that it is expanding its global presence, following an agreement with Element Materials Technology (“Element”), through the addition of NQA (USA, UK and India), the management systems certification division of BM Trada (UK), Unitek (USA), the technical services division of Trialon (USA), and the remaining 50% stake in SNQA, a joint venture partner (China).
These businesses bring Kiwa additional expertise across a wide variety of markets and throughout the global Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) sector.
The investment in these companies brings a wealth of TIC and TIC-related services from offices in Europe, the Americas and Asia. NQA USA is recognized as the number one provider of certification services to aerospace in the US; Unitek is the country’s second largest provider of supply chain management and technical support services, with a strong focus on automotive, defense, and aviation.
The acquisition also gives Kiwa the remaining 50% stake in SNQA, a Chinese joint venture focused on certification in the automative sector, where it has had a long-standing partnership together with NQA UK. Meanwhile, by obtaining NQA UK and the management systems certification division of BM Trada, Kiwa also becomes a leading provider of management system and sustainability certifications in the UK.
For Kiwa, this agreement creates significant business opportunities, as CEO Luc Leroy explains: “This addition of activities and investment in capabilities is an important milestone for us on both a strategic and a cultural level. To begin with, these new companies collectively provide us with deeper access and new, complementary services in targeted growth markets such as the United States and the United Kingdom as we make life safer for even more people around the world. Secondly, we welcome over 1,000 new, highly skilled colleagues to our global team. We have worked with some of them before, through our joint venture partnership in China, and we know they are a strong cultural fit; they already live our values in terms of delivering outstanding customer service and going the extra mile. I would also like to thank SHV as our parent company for their ongoing support and belief in our strategy and for their indispensable role during the process.”
Matt Hopkinson, EVP for Element in EMEAA added: “With this divestment, we are excited to focus our growth efforts and investment in Element’s core business lines in targeted end markets. As part of this, we will retain and grow BM Trada’s product certification services division, including its Q-mark scheme, which continues to be an important part of our portfolio. We would like to thank the colleagues who are leaving our group today for their many contributions to Element; they are a talented team and we wish them all the very best in their new partnership with Kiwa.”
The investment in these companies brings a wealth of TIC and TIC-related services from offices in Europe, the Americas and Asia. NQA USA is recognized as the number one provider of certification services to aerospace in the US; Unitek is the country’s second largest provider of supply chain management and technical support services, with a strong focus on automotive, defense, and aviation.
The acquisition also gives Kiwa the remaining 50% stake in SNQA, a Chinese joint venture focused on certification in the automative sector, where it has had a long-standing partnership together with NQA UK. Meanwhile, by obtaining NQA UK and the management systems certification division of BM Trada, Kiwa also becomes a leading provider of management system and sustainability certifications in the UK.
For Kiwa, this agreement creates significant business opportunities, as CEO Luc Leroy explains: “This addition of activities and investment in capabilities is an important milestone for us on both a strategic and a cultural level. To begin with, these new companies collectively provide us with deeper access and new, complementary services in targeted growth markets such as the United States and the United Kingdom as we make life safer for even more people around the world. Secondly, we welcome over 1,000 new, highly skilled colleagues to our global team. We have worked with some of them before, through our joint venture partnership in China, and we know they are a strong cultural fit; they already live our values in terms of delivering outstanding customer service and going the extra mile. I would also like to thank SHV as our parent company for their ongoing support and belief in our strategy and for their indispensable role during the process.”
Matt Hopkinson, EVP for Element in EMEAA added: “With this divestment, we are excited to focus our growth efforts and investment in Element’s core business lines in targeted end markets. As part of this, we will retain and grow BM Trada’s product certification services division, including its Q-mark scheme, which continues to be an important part of our portfolio. We would like to thank the colleagues who are leaving our group today for their many contributions to Element; they are a talented team and we wish them all the very best in their new partnership with Kiwa.”