Page 32: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 2011)

32 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

FEATURE CLASSIFICATION

The deal marrying a prominent com- modities inspection and testing group with a ship classification society links two global firms dedicated to reducing risk. Both already have a large maritime presence. Bernard Anne, executive vice president at Bureau Veritas and manag- ing director of Bureau Veritas marine di- vision puts the deal in perspective. “It is a long time since Bureau Veritas was just a classification society. Over the last fif- teen years we have been doubling in size every five years by widening both our range of services and our geographical footprint. Our strategy has always been to be number one in the world in con- formity assessment and certification serv- ices in the areas of quality, health and safety, environment and social responsi- bility (QHSE).” Getting there meant exe- cuting strategy which mixed organic growth with careful acquisition.

First buying into the commodities test- ing markets in 2007, BV kept an eye on other businesses in that sector. Inspec- torate, as it turned out, best comple- mented the BV network.

And, because Inspectorate was previ- ously owned by a venture capital com- pany, the timing was right. Bernard Anne explains, “We could take a big step to- wards our goals: Bureau Veritas could re- alize its investment and Inspectorate could join a successful and growing group with plans to invest.”

Bureau Veritas billed the acquisition as a major step forward in its global “buy and build” strategy. Bureau Veritas in 2009 had revenues of Euro2.65bn, more than 900 offices in 140 countries and 39,000 employees spanning a global business suite of services comprised of inspection, testing, audit, certification, ship classification, risk management, out- sourcing, consulting and training serv- ices.

By the end of this year, the combined firm will employ around 48,000 people, have annual turnover of Euro3bn and more importantly, will be strongly posi- tioned in with increased resources in new and key markets.

As a part of that, BV doubled its num- ber of laboratories to 330, achieving crit- ical size in the promising commodities testing and inspection market.

The Inspectorate acquisition was only part of the story. During 2010, BV also bought four other companies, including

Advanced Coal Technology (revenue of around €7 million), one of the leading providers of coal testing in South Africa.

Clearly, Inspectorate – which has a pres- ence in every major oil, energy and bulk handling port – was the linchpin. Ac- cording to Bernard Anne, the move al- lowed Inspectorate to join a global leader with a diversified portfolio of activities, who understands its business and is com- mitted to investing in further growth.

That wasn’t always the case with Inspec- torate’s venture capital parent.

Marrying Quality, Eliminating Risk

Bureau Veritas Acquires Inspectorate

Bureau Veritas EVP Bernard Anne explains the logic behind one of the most interesting business deals of last year and why, on the waterfront, it may just be one of the most important. The powerful synergy of ship classification with commodities inspection and testing could change both disciplines forever. by Joe Keefe