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TÜV Rheinland worldwide for quality and safety

Active abroad since 1970 / Around 11,470 employees outside Germany / Own companies on all continents.

TÜV Rheinland: Even if the name suggests it, the independent test service provider for quality and safety is now not only active across Germany with 8,800 employees, but also beyond the German borders. TÜV Rheinland works at locations around the world on all continents – from Argentina to Morocco to Vietnam. In 1970 the gradual internationalization of the activity began with the foundation of the first subsidiary in Luxembourg, and since 2006 the company has been active on all continents after establishing its own audit firm in Australia. People from around 110 nations work together at TÜV Rheinland.

Around 11,470 employees work at TÜV Rheinland outside the German home market. That corresponds to almost 60 percent of the entire workforce. They generate almost half of the turnover in the entire group. International business focuses on regional Asia – above all China, Japan and India -, America and Europe outside of Germany.

Driving forces for internationalization

There are three main reasons for TÜV Rheinland’s internationalization:

the internationalization of individual companies, their production and target markets;
the networking and harmonization of global goods and economic areas,
the development and industrialization in numerous emerging countries such as Brazil, China or India.

In a growing number of economies and societies, the latter results in higher living standards and thus safety and environmental standards, which are often additionally monitored by state authorities or technical testing organizations such as TÜV Rheinland.

TÜV Rheinland’s international orientation and cross-border activities are reflected in a variety of ways in the company. Example of testing products: In this area, 80 percent of the business is done outside of Germany, since the tests expediently take place where products are manufactured, especially in Asia. TÜV Rheinland has around 600 so-called national accreditations worldwide – official recognition for carrying out tests. There are around 150 accreditations and approvals in the area of product testing. The largest laboratory locations of TÜV Rheinland with a comprehensive program of testing services are the Global Technology Assessment Centers in Bangkok, Budapest, Cologne / Nuremberg, Milan, Shanghai, Silicon Valley and Yokohama. For manufacturers, this also means that they can receive TÜV Rheinland tests for all important markets worldwide from a single source and, if tests are successful, meet the requirements in the USA as well as for Japan, India, Europe or South Africa.

The same applies to numerous other economic sectors and industries in which TÜV Rheinland operates. Regardless of whether food or car parts, textiles or components for wind turbines: They are all manufactured, traded and bought worldwide. Independent quality and safety controls, for example by TÜV Rheinland, ensure that the required standards are met. If pipeline pipes are ordered for a project in Europe, for example from an Indian or Chinese manufacturer, thanks to its international expertise, TÜV Rheinland is able to carry out supplier audits at the manufacturer and to monitor manufacturing quality.

International orientation of skills and responsibility

TÜV Rheinland itself also endeavors to make its acquired skills and existing testing services available to international companies. Management systems are certified, for example, according to globally applicable ISO standards by specially qualified auditors, regardless of whether the customers are located in Germany or Indonesia. This also applies to classic testing services: Technical vehicle monitoring not only takes place across Germany, but also in Chile, France, Spain or Latvia. Of the over 9.4 million vehicle inspections that TÜV Rheinland conducts annually, almost 7 million are carried out outside of Germany.

The implementation of such testing services for people, technology and the environment creates a great responsibility that the employees bear. This responsibility is expressed in the mission statement of TÜV Rheinland as well as in the membership of the United Nations Global Compact. TÜV Rheinland joined this alliance for more sustainability in business back in 2006 and also awards the International TÜV Rheinland Global Compact Award to individuals who are particularly committed to sustainable business. Key points of the global alliance of companies and organizations is the fight against child labor and corruption as well as for higher environmental and social standards in the economy worldwide.

Overview of regions

Today, TÜV Rheinland has bundled and organized its international business outside of Germany into various regions: Asia-Pacific, Greater China, India / Middle East and Africa (IMEA), Central and Eastern Europe, North America, South America and Western Europe.

TÜV Rheinland operates with around 1,130 employees in the Asia-Pacific region. They work in ten countries, starting with Japan: On October 2, 1978, TÜV Rheinland opened its first office in Tokyo with three employees; the expansion of product testing played a major role in further development. TÜV Rheinland, which is accredited by the Japanese state as a testing company, opened a large product testing laboratory in Yokohama in 2005 in the presence of the German President. Today, TÜV Rheinland maintains almost 30 laboratories across the Asia-Pacific region, and TÜV Rheinland’s work extends from the development of safety concepts for magnetic levitation trains in South Korea to battery testing in Japanese laboratories. In state-of-the-art laboratory centers, engineers, technicians and chemists test a wide range of consumer goods and technical components directly in the production countries that are intended for export all over the world. In 2018, TÜV Rheinland opened a new headquarters with state-of-the-art laboratories in the South Korean capital of Seoul, where the company has been operating since 1987.

Laboratories are located in Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, among others. Other fields of work are the examination of management systems and processes, the implementation of supplier audits, the support of energy and infrastructure projects as well as the areas of IT-service and cyber security.

China is the largest subsidiary of TÜV Rheinland in Asia. The testing service provider employs a total of over 4,100 people at 25 locations. TÜV Rheinland started its first activities in China in 1986. The focus of the work is currently on product testing in 92 different test and laboratory centers. Other areas of work include the certification of management systems, services along the supply chain in the energy generation, automotive and other manufacturing sectors as well as work in infrastructure, construction and rail projects.

In addition to the People’s Republic of China, TÜV Rheinland also includes Taiwan and Hong Kong in the Greater China region. TÜV Rheinland operates a state-of-the-art test center in Shanghai. The branch has an area of around 17,000 square meters and houses test laboratories for numerous product groups. As one of the largest and most modern integrated test complexes in Asia, it is aimed at manufacturers in the consumer goods, mechanical engineering and solar industries. Chemical analyzes, tests for electrical safety, electromagnetic compatibility, usability and calibrations can be implemented at the highest technical level.

Other large TÜV Rheinland locations and laboratory centers are located in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangdong. TÜV Rheinland also opened its Internet-of-Things (IoT) Excellence Center in Shenzhen in 2018.

India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA)

TÜV Rheinland is growing very strongly in this region and has almost 2,000 employees there. Test and test laboratories are located in India, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and in particular Bangladesh. South Africa is the oldest national company in the region. TÜV Rheinland has been operating there – currently with more than 100 employees – for over 40 years. TÜV Rheinland is now represented by its own companies in 13 countries throughout the region. The engagement of the testing company is currently growing very strongly in the Gulf region. TÜV Rheinland founded its own companies there in Qatar and Oman.

TÜV Rheinland is developing into one of the most important international service providers for testing, monitoring and certification in the region. The range of services ranges from risk-based inspections in the oil and gas industry to services in the rail and automotive industries and the certification of management systems. TÜV Rheinland opened a test laboratory for electronic products and automotive spare parts in Saudi Arabia in 2012. In the Arab region, TÜV Rheinland also oversees transport and infrastructure projects as well as projects in the energy sector. In Turkey, product testing again plays a major role for TÜV Rheinland; There the company has opened test laboratories for furniture, textiles and chemical analyzes in recent years.

India occupies an important position in the work of TÜV Rheinland. The testing service provider started there in 1996 and now maintains nine laboratory centers. The focus of investments in recent years has been primarily on product testing: in addition to new textile testing laboratories, laboratories have been set up to test electrical products and regenerative energy technology. In addition, the expansion of educational offerings in the academy area has been a focus of investments in recent years. Most recently, TÜV Rheinland opened a new 14,000 square meter product testing center in Bangalore, India in autumn 2017.

Central and Eastern Europe

TÜV Rheinland now has around 850 employees in 16 national companies in Central and Eastern Europe, where the company has been active since 1991. TÜV Rheinland offers services in industrial testing, mobility, product testing and the auditing of processes and management systems. In 2005, TÜV Rheinland significantly expanded its business in Hungary with the takeover of the electrical engineering institute MEEI and the Hungarian test and certification company for technical security MBVTI. Budapest is also home to one of TÜV Rheinland’s large laboratory centers, one of the Global Technology Assessment Centers. In 2013, the industrial auditor Minell Quality Control and Services was integrated in Hungary.

TÜV Rheinland’s work in Latvia is unique: there the company is responsible for vehicle testing and operates the world’s largest test center in Riga. TÜV Rheinland maintains a total of 14 test centers there and carries out almost 680,000 vehicle tests every year.

TÜV Rheinland has been active in Canada, Mexico and the USA since 1983 with around 700 employees at 30 locations. The testing service provider has made large investments in the US market in recent years. In the USA, TÜV Rheinland operates twelve laboratories for product and material testing, among others. In addition to setting up laboratories, TÜV Rheinland has also taken over companies. In 2012, TÜV Rheinland Rail Science, a leading consultancy in the rail industry, was integrated. In 2014, TÜV Rheinland took over the US IT security specialists from OpenSky Corporation, which operates under TÜV Rheinland OpenSky. TÜV Rheinland has been significantly expanding its IT services and cyber security area internationally for several years.

In California, TÜV Rheinland is also expanding its laboratory capacities for testing radio technologies, where the company has operated a test laboratory in Silicon Valley for years. Specifically, it is about the testing and certification of wireless standards. TÜV Rheinland is a pioneer in the testing of Wi-Fi technology, but was also one of the leading test service providers involved in the development of Bluetooth technology from the very beginning. In the spring of 2017, a second, 1,100-square meter laboratory center was opened in Fremont, California, which thanks to state-of-the-art technology shortens the test cycles to a fraction of the previous time and thus saves costs. This is invaluable in the fast-paced digital world, where up to 1,000 different tests are required for a cell phone, for example

All in all, TÜV Rheinland is active in North America with tests and audits in many areas, including in the automotive industry, mechanical engineering, product safety, electromagnetic compatibility, functional safety, rail technology, chemical test procedures, and pressure equipment and material technology.

Hardly anyone suspects that TÜV Rheinland is one of the leading testing companies in Brazil, but it is exactly the same. TÜV Rheinland employs almost 1,900 people in the South America region. The largest national company is Brazil with around 950 employees, plus Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru. TÜV Rheinland has a total of 30 locations on the continent, and the company also operates 15 test stations for vehicles in Chile.

In 1997 TÜV Rheinland started its work in Brazil. The main focus of the work there is on industrial testing, especially for the oil and gas industry. TÜV Rheinland has been active on the South American continent since 1993. The company opened its first offices in the South American market in Argentina and Chile. In Chile, TÜV Rheinland is also active in vehicle testing and maintains 15 service stations between Santiago and Puerto Montt. TÜV Rheinland inspects almost one million vehicles annually across the country.

The internationalization of TÜV Rheinland’s work began in Western Europe in the early 1970s. In total, almost 1,800 people work for TÜV Rheinland in Western Europe outside Germany in nine countries from Sweden to Portugal and from Great Britain to Italy.

The testing services cover almost all areas and numerous industries in which the company also operates in Germany. These include industrial testing as well as the testing of management systems, specialized product laboratories or vehicle monitoring with almost 1,000 service stations in France and Spain.

TÜV Rheinland operates a total of ten laboratory centers in various countries to test the safety of products and materials, to check the electromagnetic compatibility of electrical products and wireless technologies, and to carry out chemical analyzes. In 2015, TÜV Rheinland opened a large global technology assessment center in Milan with twelve individual laboratories for product testing. In recent years, the main focus of investment in the region has been the expansion of industrial testing and vehicle testing. TÜV Rheinland has expanded car testing in Spain and France. In the past few years, four new test positions have been created in the Madrid area. In France, TÜV Rheinland took over the majority of Secta Autosur. The company is a licensor for over 900 technical vehicle testing centers across France. TÜV Rheinland inspects a total of around 4.5 million motor vehicles in both countries each year.