Kiwa has acquired sector counterpart CoMore and in doing so has expanded its activities to include the livestock and meat sector. The acquisition will also enable Kiwa and CoMore to offer a total package of control and quality assurance services for the food, feed and farm sectors. This pooling of activities creates a one-stop shop for assessment, inspections, certification and tailor-made information and ICT services.
Paul Hesselink, CEO of Kiwa: ‘The need for wider knowledge, efficiency and continuity across the entire agro, food and feed sector continues to grow due to increasingly more stringent government requirements. Chain responsibility requires broad international knowledge and expertise relating to quality programmes and we will soon be able to offer this on a one-stop shop basis. CoMore employees’ expertise and effectiveness are clearly a related added benefit, which we will be pleased to place at the service of our clients in various sectors and for government agencies and consumers.’
CoMore’s knowledge and experience, primarily in the Dutch livestock and meat sector, are an excellent addition to Kiwa’s existing portfolio in the field of international certification relating mainly to fruit and vegetables, logistics, storage and hygiene. This pooling of strengths means Kiwa and CoMore will be able to offer an expanded range of services to clients from the livestock and meat sector, the retail trade and government agencies in the Netherlands. This additional range comprises both more general services in the field of quality, sustainability and the environment and specific accreditations in the fruit and vegetable sector. Thanks to its expertise relating to the livestock and meat sector, Kiwa in turn provides CoMore access to a wide international client network that is served from own offices in 40 countries in Europe, Latin America and Asia.
CoMore Director Van van der Weg: ‘We reached the conclusion that CoMore should spread its wings by joining forces with a broadly-based and well-known international certification body. This positions CoMore more effectively as an independent organisation, which is important for the continuity of the organisation. The pooling of activities makes it possible to serve our clients more widely and effectively. We also envision opportunities for offering CoMore’s available knowledge internationally and for providing comparable services in other fields. We are a leader in the Netherlands with respect to food safety and having the required knowledge to embed quality in the chain in the Netherlands. We will be able to utilise and share this knowledge on a broader basis within Kiwa. We are delighted that in Kiwa we have found an excellent partner with Dutch roots.’
