Applus+ Commits Itself To North America With Two New Acquisitions

Barcelona - Applus+, the leading Spanish multinational in testing, inspection, certification and technological services and one of the ten largest worldwide, announced today the acquisition of two firms specialized in inspections and non-destructive testing: Quality Inspection Services (QISI), headquartered in the American state of New York, and Staveley, located in Ontario province, Canada. These operations, together with the acquisition of JanX (United States) in 2008 and of Technico (Canada) in 2009, reinforce the company’s commitment to the North American market, where it has been present for two decades with a workforce of about 1,000 and a turnover exceeding €150M per year.

“It is with great satisfaction that we announce these operations, which will allow us to continue to meet the objectives of our strategic plan”, explains Joaquim Coello, CEO of Applus+. “There currently is in North America a drive to increase energy capacity, while the concern for preserving the environment is also growing. As a consequence of this, we have seen a growing need for inspection services with a high technological content and we wish to take our place as relevant players in this market”, he concludes.

Non-Destructive Testing and Inspection (NDT&I) refers to the set of techniques and technologies used to test and monitor the status and safety of installations and objects without affecting their integrity. Used in the oil and gas, the (petro) chemical and power generating industry, today these inspections are also used in a variety of other fields, such as aviation, the food processing industry, water distribution and storage tank farms, among others, generating a global yearly turnover of €2.5 billion.

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Quality Inspection Services Inc. (QISI)

With over 20 years of experience and a workforce of 300, QISI provides inspection, testing and engineering services, specializing in the power plant market. With a strong presence in the State of New York (where it is headquartered), it has 14 branches distributed all over the American territory. QISI is one of the five leading companies operating in the United States in the field of power generation plant inspection, and its turnover is more than €20M.
Staveley

Headquartered in Ontario Province, Staveley specializes in inspections and non-destructive testing in the power industry, the aerospace sector and infrastructures, with a workforce composed of 30 highly qualified employees with ample experience. The acquisition of this company will allow Applus+ to increase its turnover, appealing to a large customer portfolio and bringing under its fold professionals with proven management abilities and remarkable reputation. These resources will strengthen the presence of Applus+ as the number one in its sector on the east Coast of Canada.

WORLD LEADER IN NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING AND ASSET INTEGRITY
QISI and Staveley will be brought into the NDT&I division of Applus+. This business area, known as Applus+ RTD, is headquartered in Rotterdam (Netherlands), has over 3,000 employees and works for the main oil & gas, petrochemical, tankfarm and power companies in the world. With over 2,000 customers, its 2009 turnover exceeded €300M.
Applus+ acquired the Dutch group RTD in April 2006, which gave birth to Applus+ RTD, the division specialized in Non-Destructive Testing, Inspection and Asset Integrity Management. In 2008, Applus+ purchased the companies MB Inspection and JanX, market leaders in the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively, becoming the world leader in this business area. The expansion of this division continued in 2009 with new acquisitions in France, Poland and Canada.

Applus+, a global company in testing, inspection and certification
Applus+ is a leading company in testing, inspection, certification and technological services. It is also one of the ten largest companies in the conformity assessment sector worldwide and the largest Spanish multinational in the field. It is a global leader in the fields of vehicle inspection and non-destructive testing and is among the top companies in Europe in the inspection, technical assistance and laboratory sectors.

The company, whose CEO is Joaquim Coello, has a workforce of more than 10,000 people and had a turnover of €837M in 2008. Applus+, part of the company portfolio of The Carlyle Group since 2007, has operations on all five continents and provides services to more than 25 industrial sectors.

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