Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development
Trescal Holding Pty Ltd’s (Trescal) proposed acquisition of TR Pty Ltd’s calibration and equipment sales business, TechRentals Calibration & Sales (TR Calibration) could substantially lessen competition and requires further in-depth assessment by the ACCC.
The ACCC has not approved the acquisition in its Phase 1 assessment, and has decided that the transaction will be subject to a Phase 2 review.
Trescal and TR Calibration both supply calibration services across a range of testing domains in Australia, including to customers seeking multiple calibration services from a single supplier.
Trescal and TR Calibration are also among a limited number of suppliers that are able to provide calibration services for reference equipment in the electrical testing domain.
“We consider that Trescal’s proposed acquisition could substantially lessen competition in the supply of calibration services in certain testing domains,” ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams said.
“Information before the ACCC shows that there are limited viable competitive alternatives operating at a similar scale and with similar capabilities to Trescal and TR Calibration, particularly for the supply of calibration services in the electrical, radiofrequency, torque and force testing domains.”
The ACCC is also considering the impact of the acquisition on the supply of calibration services to customers seeking them from a single supplier across a range of testing domains. Based on the information before the ACCC, there appears to be a limited number of providers with the scope and capability to supply calibration services across multiple testing domains at a comparable scale to Trescal and TR Calibration.
The ACCC has not reached a conclusion on the issues and will continue to consider the acquisition in Phase 2.
The ACCC invites submissions in response to its Phase 2 Notice by 14 July 2026. Parties can contact the ACCC via mergers@accc.gov.au.
More information and the Phase 2 Notice are available on the ACCC’s Acquisitions Register: Trescal – TR Calibration.
Note to editors
Trescal notified the acquisition to the ACCC on 14 April 2026. The ACCC’s Phase 1 determination period was extended by eight business days on 4 May 2026 following a request by the parties; by a further 11 business days on 26 May 2026 following a request by the parties; and by a further five business days on 22 June 2026 following a request to the parties for further information.
Background
Trescal is a subsidiary of French company Trescal International SAS, a global provider of calibration and asset management services. In Australia, Trescal supplies calibration services, equipment procurement and distribution, instrument verification, equipment maintenance, system validation, electrical safety equipment testing services and asset management services, to customers in various sectors. Trescal operates across Australia and has laboratories in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
TR is a subsidiary of Vp plc, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange. TR is primarily a nationwide provider of technology equipment (including testing, inspection, calibration and telecommunications equipment) for rent.
Through the acquisition, Trescal would acquire TR’s nationwide calibration services and equipment sales business, TR Calibration, which supplies calibration services and measurement equipment to customers across Australia including from laboratories in Sydney and Brisbane.
Many instruments that provide verifiable measurements require calibration services to ensure the device is accurate. The supply of calibration services involves comparing the output of a customer’s measurement equipment against reference measurement equipment known to be accurate. Calibration services can be provided on site or at a laboratory.
Calibration services are supplied across a number of testing domains, including electrical, radiofrequency, torque and force domains. Providers may supply calibration services for one testing domain, or across multiple testing domains.
Providers also require their own reference equipment to be calibrated periodically, to ensure its accuracy. There is a limited range of suppliers with the necessary capability to calibrate the reference equipment of rival providers in the electrical testing domain, and Trescal and TR Calibration are among them.
Merger control regime
The ACCC can decide a notification is to be subject to a Phase 2 review if the ACCC is satisfied that the acquisition to which the notification relates, if put into effect, could, in all of the circumstances, have the effect, or be likely to have the effect, of substantially lessening competition in any market.
Under the Competition and Consumer Act, a Phase 2 assessment can take up to 90 business days, unless extended under specific circumstances.
More guidance on the new merger regime can be found on the ACCC’s website: Guidance documents for the merger control regime.