Intertek acquires 4th Strand LLC (4th Strand)

Intertek Group plc (Intertek), the leading international provider of quality services to a wide range of industries, announces that it has acquired 4th Strand, a provider of product quality and benchmarking services to the retail industry in North America.

The company was purchased from its management shareholders for a total consideration of USD 6.4 million (GBP 4.1 million). 

4th Strand's services are used by retailers in their analysis of product lines and also in the development of higher quality own-brand products. The company's analytical, benchmarking and advisory services help customers evaluate the performance of products during procurement and ensure consistent brand and product quality where different suppliers are used.

As large retailers develop more of their own-brand products to increase sales and profitability, increased quality support is required as their product development capabilities are normally less extensive compared to the branded product manufacturers. This is driving additional strong demand for 4th Strand's solutions as an independent expert in this field.

4th Strand's expertise in the support of retail procurement and own-brand consulting complements Intertek's portfolio of quality services for the retail and consumer products sector. The company has 12 people and is based in Georgia, USA. It will form part of Intertek's Consumer Goods division.

Wolfhart Hauser, Chief Executive Officer of Intertek, commented: 

"We are pleased to welcome 4th Strand to Intertek. Their services will increase our consulting capability to existing North American and global clients who seek to deliver high quality products under their own-brand labels and to our customers more broadly in the area of product benchmarking."