Amedco Gets New Owner
Stephanie Corbin -- Tradeshow Week, 10/7/2008 12:53:00 PM
When you’re the largest association management company, sometimes you only can get bigger.
That’s exactly the case with SmithBucklin, whose officials recently announced the acquisition of St. Paul, Minn.-based Amedco, a certification and accreditation management company. The transaction will close by the end of the year, and details about the deal were not released.
“We are very excited about this acquisition because Amedco is the leader in its field,” said Henry S. Givray, chairman and CEO of SmithBucklin. “Amedco has a 15-year track record of excellence, and there are strong client service and operational synergies between our two companies.”
Amedco was founded in 1993 by Norm Skog and Karen Edmonson and provides associations and professional organizations with certification and accreditation services for their educational programs.
“Working in conjunction with our own education and program services team, Amedco will be able to deliver unprecedented accreditation and certification management services to all of our client organizations in all industries,” Givray said.
Amedco will retain its office in St. Paul, he added. Amedco partners Luke Davis and Iver Skog will remain with the company, and President and CEO William D. Pawlucy, Skog and Edmonson will continue in their current executive leadership positions, all in the St. Paul office.
“We are thrilled to become part of the SmithBucklin family,” Pawlucy said. “Amedco and SmithBucklin have very similar cultures and share many of the same values. Both companies also are passionate about driving client service excellence and growth.”
Amedco will retain its brand, and all employees will be hired as SmithBucklin employees, with eligibility to participate in the employee stock ownership plan. SmithBucklin is 100 percent employee-owned.
