Bureau Veritas is pleased to announce the acquisition of CERTEST, an Italian softline luxury goods and apparel testing laboratory.

Established in 2004, CERTEST is located in Tuscany, a key production center for leather goods and apparel in Italy. The laboratory provides physical and chemical testing services to luxury international brands to assess the safety and quality characteristics of leather, footwear and other softline products, including textiles and jewelry. CERTEST is a leader in Italy with a strong market share. CERTEST employs 32 people and generated a revenue of EUR 3.5 million in 2014. 
    
At a global level, testing services for softline luxury goods are growing rapidly, driven by strong demand for independent specialist assessment services along the supply chain.

"This new acquisition meets two objectives: to expand our Consumer Products business in Europe and to grow our market share in luxury worldwide. CERTEST will enable Bureau Veritas to gain full access to Italy, the second largest softline luxury goods production country. We will also leverage CERTEST as our European center of expertise to boost our offer and capture more opportunities with major luxury brands" commented Didier Michaud-Daniel, CEO of Bureau Veritas.
 

"We have built a successful commercial and technical partnership with Bureau Veritas over the past few years. Becoming a member company of Bureau Veritas will propel us forward as the Group’s bridgehead for Consumer Products services in Italy and will help us keep growing internationally" said Giuliano Campigli, CEO of CERTEST.

About Bureau Veritas 
Bureau Veritas is a world leader in laboratory testing, inspection and certification services. Created in 1828, the Group has around 66,700 employees located in 1,400 offices and laboratories around the globe. Bureau Veritas helps its clients to improve their performance by offering services and innovative solutions in order to ensure that their assets, products, infrastructure and processes meet standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility.
Bureau Veritas is listed on Euronext Paris and belongs to the Next 20 index.
Compartment A, ISIN code FR 0006174348, stock symbol: BVI.

For more information, visit www.group.bureauveritas.com