Athens: Italy’s RINA classification society is to acquire QIC, a Houston-based testing, inspection and certification (TIC) company serving the energy industry.
“QIC is a well-established TIC company with a strong, blue-chip customer base of operators and manufacturers operating globally with expertise that complements that of RINA,” said Stefano Socci, RINA Services’ general manager, Americas. “The RINA and QIC combination will allow us to more rapidly expand our presence in the global offshore and subsea markets.”
As well as in Houston, QIC has offices in Louisiana, the UK, Singapore and Malaysia.
RINA says it aims to expand by acquiring “high-quality companies with complementary expertise and access to new markets”, a statement said today. The US market in particular holds a lot of potential, it added.
QIC’s existing management and brand will stay in place after the acquisition has been completed.
“We are very pleased with the outcome of this transaction and the opportunities this combination will bring to our loyal customers and employees,” said Douglas Fletcher, who founded QIC in 1990. “We could not have selected a better partner than RINA to drive expansion and take QIC to the next level.”
RINA’s class and class-related specialist services to offshore floating units grew throughout 2014 to about 1.45m gt by the year’s end, with 320 units in operation or in ongoing newbuilding and conversion projects.
The society’s marine business grew by 5% over the course of 2014. RINA Services ended the year with a classed fleet of 5,166 vessels totalling 34m gt, with an orderbook of 680 vessels totalling 4.6m gt.
Shipowners transferred 400 ships totalling 2.6m gt to RINA from other class societies during 2014, the group said.
