A TESTING company is making good progress to gain a stronger foothold in a near £200bn global assurance industry, its boss has claimed.

Intertek chief André Lacroix says it is poised to capitalise on organisations’ enduring drive to improve operational quality and safety procedures.

The business runs Darlingtonbased Intertek ShipCare, which keeps thousands of ships moving by providing services such as bunker fuel testing, and says those types of operations will supplement future growth.

Mr Lacroix revealed his plans today (Tuesday, November 21) after unveiling the firm’s latest financial results for the period between January 1 and October 31, which showed revenues were nearly ten per cent better off than a year ago at £2.3bn.

Mr Lacroix, chief executive, said the company, which has further analysis sites at Wilton, near Redcar, and Port Clarence, near Stockton, is moving in the right direction.

He also highlighted the firm’s Total Quality Assurance (TQA) programme, which he said will spearhead a drive to secure existing work and win new projects.

He said: “The $250bn global quality assurance industry has attractive structural growth prospects driven by an increased focus on risk management, global trade flows, expanding regulations, technological innovations and increased consumer demand.

“We are uniquely positioned to seize these exciting growth opportunities with our TQA proposition, which provides a superior service, offering global assurance, testing, inspection and certification solutions to customers across multiple industries.

“Our transportation technologies business delivered stable organic revenue growth (after) clients’ investments in new powertrains to lower emissions and increase fuel efficiency, and we are moving the company’s centre of gravity towards our industry’s most attractive growth and margin areas.”

Intertek ShipCare is based out of Darlington’s Valley Street North and works with vessel owners and operators to avoid equipment failure and downtime caused by repairs.

It is complemented by Intertek Wilton, based near Redcar, which employs scientists tasked with analysing materials including petrochemicals and adhesives for global clients, and has a fuel and chemical testing operation at Port Clarence.