11 November 2004

InVeritas Global Holdings (IGH) acquire UK Certification Body

South African based, InVeritas Global Holdings (IGH) have acquired UK based certification body Amtri Veritas Limited .

Amtri Veritas is based in Macclesfield, Cheshire , England and has been in existence for 14 years. They are a UKAS approved Certification Body and assess quality and environmental management systems to the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards. They are also a Notified Body and perform Third Party machinery safety examinations as part of the European CE Marking requirements.

IGH acquired 80% of the Amtri Veritas shares, while AMTRI (The Advanced Manufacturing Technology Research Institute) the previous owner, retain 20%.

Amtri Veritas already has various co-operation agreements across the globe with major organisations such as KOSHA (Korea), PMC (Taiwan) and Anzenken (Japan). The plans are to expand the Amtri Veritas activities into areas where IRCA already operates - Australia , Malaysia , Indonesia , Colombia , Peru , Brazil , Chile , Mexico and China .

At present, the Amtri Veritas product range includes assessments, training and certification on Environmental and Quality Management systems as well as CE Marking consultancy, assistance and examinations of all machinery (including Annex 4) under the Machinery Directive. IGH plans on extending this product range to include the standards OHSAS 18001, SA 8000 and AMS 16001 and offering Integrated Management Systems audits as well as introducing RUBIGAP © Risk Universe Business Intelligence Global Application Protocol into Amtri Veritas ' assessment portfolio. The expanded range of Amtri Veritas activities are seen to be complimentary to the core activities of IGH - corporate governance, risk management, management systems, training and consultancy. enabling the IGH Group to provide a more rounded client support package.

“Our professional expertise and extensive experience of global assessment and legislation in industry is the basis of an invaluable and in-depth service for companies worldwide,” says Amtri Chairman Philip Sholl. “Our awareness and understanding of the pressures on manufacturers today provides a competitive edge in tailoring our highly specialised services to clients needs. We have an on-going commitment in helping clients maintain their achievements.”

Pieter Strydom, IGH Group CEOand Director of Amtri Veritas is extremely positive about this acquisition. “We will grow and expand the brand throughout the international markets.”

For more information on Amtri Veritas or the IGH Group, visit their website at http://www.amtriveritas.com and www.ighgroup.com.