Maritz moves in (Industry)
Leading global performance improvement company the Grass Roots Group has absorbed its Maritz Europa brand under a new identity.
Abigail Parkin (15 December '08)
It
is now to be known as the events and communications division of Grass
Roots. The incorporates venue-sourcing specialist HBI, rebranded
Grass Roots HBI, delegate management specialist DMS, rebranded Grass
Roots DMS and live production and experiential events specialist MMM.
Grass Roots Group board member Nick Bender (pictured) will
lead the collective with the aim of making the events division
perform successfully in domestic and global markets. “We are not
changing any locations, or indeed jobs, because our clients need
continuity of delivery," said Bender.
“As
we continue to grow our family of businesses," explained David Evans,
founder and chairman of Grass Roots "having one brand is a practical
and obvious symbol of the unity of standards and business purpose. With
16 countries where we have Grass Roots business, clients want to see
these standards and our financial strength applied. My wish and our
strategy is that we will do so in five specialist disciplines –
communication, education, measurement, reward and events.”
Nick Bender added: “Having moved the events division of Grass Roots UK into Marlow, we’ve created a centre of excellence in events management. We turned around our finances within 18 months with the backing and support of our parent company and have just posted record pre-tax profits of £1.2m, so I feel we have proved ourselves as a standalone company and are ready to move forward as the events and communications arm of Grass Roots.”
Maritz Travel Company will continue to work with the Grass Roots Group as a preferred partner outside North America. Maritz Research continues to be owned by Maritz Inc. in Germany and the UK.
RK
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