Swiss co SGS buys Romanian food testing co Industry Lab

The acquisition enhances SGS's portfolio of testing services for the Romanian food market, the Swiss company said in a press release on Monday.

The value of the deal was not disclosed.

"The acquisition of Industry Lab is in line with our strategic focus of expanding our food services and laboratory network in Europe. It fills a gap in our Health & Nutrition services portfolio in Romania and will allow us to generate efficiencies and better serve our clients in this market. Industry Lab has worked with SGS for many years and we are happy to welcome the team within our organization," SGS CEO Frankie Ng said.

Founded in 2009, Industry Lab offers a comprehensive range of microbiological analysis services.

Its net profit edged down 3% to 252,300 lei ($51,500/ 51,600 euro) in 2021, while its turnover rose by an annual 24% to 2.18 million lei, latest data from the finance ministry showed. At the end of 2021, the company employed 17.

Geneva-headquartered SGS has more than 96,000 employees and operates over 2,600 offices and laboratories worldwide.

The group entered Romania in 1922 and was present until 1947, operating mostly in the Braila port area. In 1992, the group returned to Romania and established a local subsidiary, SGS Romania, which has nine inspection and testing divisions, according to its website.

SGS Romania booked a 4.7 million lei net profit on a turnover of 78.8 million lei n 2021, data from the finance ministry showed. At the end of last year, the company employed 424.

(1 euro=4.887 euro)