Bureau Veritas, France, acquired Schutter Group B.V., a Netherlands-based provider of inspection, testing, certification and logistical support services to the global agri-commodities markets.

Schutter Group has been providing inspection, laboratory testing, risk management, supply chain auditing and certification services for nearly 170 years, and houses 600 employees and offices and laboratories in 11 countries across Europe, South America and Asia.

“Bureau Veritas’ ambition is to be recognized as a leading player in the agri-food market by 2020. The Schutter acquisition is an important milestone in our implementation of this growth initiative,” says Didier Michaud-Daniel, chief executive officer of Bureau Veritas. “By diversifying our service portfolio through leveraging Schutter’s proven supply chain expertise and expanding our geographic footprint, we will provide more comprehensive support for new and existing customers.”

“This is a great development for Schutter, as we need to join forces with a powerful partner in order to speed up and boost growth internationally. In addition, our core values of quality, service excellence and technical expertise are certainly shared by both companies,” said Hans Zwijnenburg, chief executive officer of Schutter Group. “We look forward to continuing to provide swift, accurate, reliable services in a flexible and responsive manner for our customers, as part of the Bureau Veritas Group.”