US training services firm CEEM acquired by BSI
Press release: September 17, 1998
The British Standards Institution has taken a new step in its ambitious programme of global growth by increasing its presence in North America.
BSI has acquired CEEM, a leading American management system training and publication services organisation, which has transferred its operations to the headquarters of BSI Inc in Reston, Virginia.
The BSI group of companies is growing in response to demand from our clients for a seamless global service, and this move puts us firmly on the North American map. It expands our capabilities, enabling us to provide a faster, more comprehensive service to clients across North America. It is all part of our strategy of becoming the customers preferred choice in system registration services.
BSI Inc has built an excellent reputation in North America, with clients like Sony, IBM, Hewlett Packard and Cable and Wireless who appreciate the local BSI presence.
BSI plans to be the largest registrar for management systems in the US. We are reinforcing this new phase in our development with an aggressive marketing drive focusing on specific regions and industries.
CEEM is the Center for Energy and Environmental Management, which provides a range of events and publications relating to management systems standards. CEEM's operations cover three main areas:
- Training services - offering a full complement of instruction conferences, and strategic consulting on a wide range of specialty management topics.
- Information services - providing executives and managers with the latest information through newsletters, guidebooks, handbooks, reports and videos. CEEM publishes International Environmental Systems Update (IESU), a monthly newsletter on ISO 14000-related issues, and Pro Bono, a newsletter that assists companies with strategic charitable contribution programmes.
- Marketing services - marketing all CEEM products and services, as well as products and services for other companies that complement CEEM's programmes and publications.
BSI Inc and CEEM have a very strong partnership offering management systems training programs to meet international standards for ISO 9000, ISO 14000, and medical devices.
Under this agreement, all training activities previously provided by BSI Inc and CEEM will be integrated and provided to the public through a new entity, CEEM Inc, which will continue to provide accredited and non-accredited public courses and publications that relate to the various ISO management systems standards.
Founded in 1979 in Fairfax, Virginia, CEEM has 12 employees and nine instructors, and reached annual revenues of $3 million in 1997.
The new, larger regional headquarters for BSI Inc in Reston, Virginia was opened in style on August 7, 1998. The grand opening was attended by members of the top team from BSI headquarters in the UK. BSI Inc had quickly outgrown its previous location in Herndon, Virginia where the company had been based for just over a year. BSI Inc began trading in the US in 1992. The 12,000 sq ft office gives BSI Inc the space it needs to expand its business.
