Bureau Veritas raising bar throughout domestic market

Bureau Veritas, a global leader in testing, inspection and certification, is committed to development in China, and its leaders are seeking greater interaction with local companies.

"We made a five-year development plan in 2011 with a goal of doubling revenue by 2015 and also restructuring the business to keep pace with China's economic upgrades," said Xing Jishun, senior vice-president of Bureau Veritas Group and regional chief executive of its industry and facilities division in China.

Bureau Veritas is currently providing construction management services to an ongoing international theme park project in Shanghai with a total investment of $3.7 billion that will be completed in 2015.

Xing said it is another challenging task the company is undertaking in China after successfully offering technical control and project management services for 11 pavilions during the 2010 Shanghai Expo, including France, the Netherlands, Italy, Lille, Madrid, Monaco, Paris, Rhone-Alpes, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

"It required not only rich experience in project management, full awareness of international standards but also understanding of China's practical situation. And Bureau Veritas is good at all of these," he said.

Created in 1828, Bureau Veritas delivers high-quality services to help clients meet growing challenges in terms of quality, health, safety, environmental protection and social responsibility.

As a trusted partner, the company offers innovative solutions that go beyond simple compliance with regulations and standards. It helps to reduce risk, improve performance and promote sustainable development.

The firm's core values include integrity and ethics, impartial counsel and validation, customer focus, and work safety.

Bureau Veritas is recognized and accredited by major national and international organizations.

In addition to handling significant international projects, the company's China branch is also making a greater effort to better support their local clients by offering top-quality services to projects inside and outside the country.

In 2005, Bureau Veritas began design-review, welding and non-destructive testing-related supervision for liquid natural gas projects in China. It now offers design-review inspection to almost all the nation's LNG receiving terminals.

More Chinese clients

"Bureau Veritas' client structure has evolved in recent years. In the past we offered services to mainly foreign companies, but as Chinese companies continue to venture out into the world, we are having more Chinese clients," Xing said.

For example, it has worked on China's large aircraft program, providing airworthiness consultations and training services in 2012.

The company signed quality assurance and quality control service contracts for Turkmenistan's South Yolotan Gas Field Project in 2011, establishing the foundation for the development of the company's services for overseas projects invested by large domestic oil companies.

It also offered on-site inspection for the first set of DF7G-E locomotive exported to Europe for the CNR Beijing February 7th Railway Transportation Equipment Co Ltd.

In 2010, the company began to customize an audit plan for Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce platform, by providing on-site audit services to suppliers, certifying their comprehensive ability and issuing certification reports.

Certified suppliers will receive an exclusive certification mark and report that are identified on the Alibaba platform so that overseas buyers will gain a more comprehensive understanding of the supplier, effectively improving communication efficiency and mutual trust.

Bureau Veritas has been doing business in China since 1882. Its 99 offices in 55 cities currently employ a staff of more than 9,500 skilled workers.

It provides services to industries including aerospace, agriculture, automotive, construction and real estate, consumer products, food, governments and public organizations, maritime, mines and minerals, oil and gas, power and utilities, transport and infrastructures.

"Bureau Veritas' strength lies in its ability to offer comprehensive service in diversified fields, with its rich experience in cooperating with big clients, its global network, and quality acknowledgment by more than 140 countries," Xing said.

It will further explore the Chinese market through mergers and acquisitions in some key fields and expand its presence to western China and the Bohai Bay Region.

Bureau Veritas will enhance cooperation with Chinese professionals in pushing forward management of quality, health, safety and the environment. It will aid in the construction of a world-class management system to tackle the food safety and environmental protection issues that are deeply affecting Chinese society.

"The key mission of our business is to help clients win trust through providing transparent information, and I am fully confident that Bureau Veritas has a lot of opportunities in China," Xing said.

xieyu@chinadaily.com.cn