On 3 September, the sale was announced of the independent pest control consultancy business, Acheta Consulting Ltd to Kiwa UK Ltd. The Kiwa organisation is owned by the Kiwa Group, an international Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) group headquartered in The Netherlands.
Based in Cheltenham, Kiwa Ltd is made up of six UK business areas forming the Kiwa UK Group. The organisation has an ambitious growth strategy, having doubled in size in the last four years through both organic growth and by acquisition. One of the six business areas is Harrogate-based Kiwa Agri Food, a UKAS-accredited product conformity certification body with a BRC 5-star rating as a certified body. It is within this Agri Food part of the group that will house the Acheta operating division.
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Acheta’s core business activities – independent pest management inspection, training and consultancy – continue unchanged, as does the Acheta management team, headed by Dr John Simmons and supported by regional managers Ian Adamson and Mark Bowron.
Commenting on the sale, John said: “I have grown the business over 19 years to be highly professional, well respected and staffed by excellent employees. The Agri Food division of Kiwa is a very good fit for what we do. We share some customers already and we now have an opportunity to expand into Kiwa’s customer base, and vice versa. As Kiwa is a global operation, the potential to eventually expand the Acheta offering internationally is both significant and exciting!”
Paul Brown, CEO of Kiwa Ltd added: “I am delighted to welcome the Acheta team to Kiwa. Acheta’s expertise and reputation in the marketplace complements our Kiwa Agri Food service offering perfectly. The potential synergies from this joining of forces are many, as are the opportunities for innovation, growth and an expanding UK and international presence.”
Acheta Consulting Ltd
Dr John Simmons set up Acheta Consulting Ltd in 2001.
It is an independent consultancy which specialises in all aspects of pest management, but independent inspection of food manufacturing facilities is the principal service provided.
The company now has a team of 12 consultants working with many blue-chip food manufacturing companies both in the UK and internationally. John is also a member of the Pest Technical Advisory Board.
Kiwa Group and Kiwa UK
Kiwa Group is a world top 20 leader in Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) working in a wide variety of market segments, ranging from construction and energy supply to drinking water, healthcare, food, feed & farming. Areas of expertise include management systems, corporate social responsibility and lab testing, among many others.
The company has clients in manufacturing and process industries, (business) services, public and private utilities, governments and international institutions. Worldwide Kiwa employs over 4,300 people in more than 100 offices in over 40 countries across the world, mainly in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Kiwa UK is based in Cheltenham, but the Acheta business will form part of Agri Food sector based in Harrogate. This sector offers global certification, verification and (production and equipment) control services to help retailers, suppliers and farmers, to build customer confidence by offering design, application, audit and monitoring protocols that provide assurance throughout the entire international food supply chain – from farm to fork.
