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The world’s biggest standards inspection and certification group, SGS, said on Monday that it was aiming to turn into a “domestic player” in China after the acquisition of another Chinese company.
The Swiss group said in a statement it was acquiring the Tianjin Tianbao Construction Materials Testing Company, based in the Tianjin Binhai economic development zone, China’s third largest.
“This new acquisition falls in line with our strategy to position SGS as a domestic player in China,” said SGS chief executive Chris Kirk.
“Tianbao, with its accreditations and qualifications, provides us with direct access to the fast growing Tianjin market and will set a solid platform for growth in other segments including petrochemical and transportation,” he added.
In September, SGS announced the acquisition of industrial certification specialist Yan Tai Huajian.
The Geneva-headquartered company said at the time that it employed more than 8,000 people in China.
The cost of each transaction was not disclosed.
Kirk said in October that SGS was aiming to accelerate its acquisitions until 2014, seeking to buy the equivalent of 700 million Swiss francs (723 million dollars, 560 million euros) in turnover.