TÜV Rheinland
Encyclopedia
TÜV Rheinland (ˈtʏf ˈʁaɪnlant) is a global provider of technical, safety and certification services. Originally called the Dampfkessel-Überwachungs-Vereine (Steam Boiler Inspectorate), TÜV Rheinland was founded in 1872 and has its headquarters in Cologne
, Germany
. Renamed the TÜV Rheinland (Technical Inspections Organization) group in 1936, it employs more than 12,000 people in 360 locations in 62 countries and generates annual revenues of € 1.1 billion (40% outside of Germany). The group's guiding principle is to achieve sustained development of safety and quality in order to meet the challenges arising from the interaction between man, technology and the environment (thus the triangular logo).
by TÜV Rheinland. Today TÜV Rheinland is a global leader in the areas of toy- and furniture testing as well as in the assessment and certification of Photovoltaics
.
Other services include the certification of management systems (according to ISO 9000
/ ISO 9001) or market access
services (which streamlines the importation and exportation of products) as an example.
The companies history can be traced back to 1872, when a group of entrepreneurs founded the "Dampfkessel-Überwachungs-Vereine
" (DÜV
) or "Steam Boiler Inspectorate". The aim of DÜV was to ensure technical safety of steam boilers, an immanent issue at that time.
1872
Entrepreneurs found the “Verein zur Überwachung der Dampfkessel” (an organization to inspect steam boilers) - the predecessor of TÜV Rheinland Group - in the districts of Elberfeld
and Barmen
, Germany
to ensure the safety of their production facilities. Soon later authorities granted the organisation to carry out mandatory inspections.
1877
More than 80 operators of steam boilers merge and form the “Rheinischer Dampfkessel-Überwachungsverein (DÜV) Cöln-Düsseldorf”.
1900
DÜV inspects the first automobiles and administers driving license tests.
1918
DÜV expands its activities to include safety inspections in the mining and energy sector.
1936
DÜV becomes TÜV
, Technische Überwachungsvereine (Technical Inspections Organizations) and Rheinischer DÜV becomes TÜV Köln.
1962
TÜV Köln, at that time with 600 employees and six offices, is renamed TÜV Rheinland e.V.
1967
Foundation of the first domestic TÜV Rheinland subsidiary.
1970
Foundation of the first foreign TÜV Rheinland subsidiary.
1978
TÜV Rheinland opens first office in Asia
with a representative office in Tokyo.
1980
TÜV Rheinland's first North America
n office is opened in New York City.
1986
TÜV Rheinland establishes a branch office in Taiwan
.
1988
The first office in China is opened in Hong Kong
.
1989
The first office in Mainland China
is established in Shanghai.
1992
TÜV Rheinland Holding AG (a holding corporation) is established to oversee the operations of the corporate group.
1995
TÜV Rheinland enters the South America
n continent by offering Car Inspection Services in Córdoba, Argentina
.
1997
TÜV Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. and TÜV Rheinland e.V. merge to form the new TÜV Rheinland Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.
2003
TÜV Rheinland Berlin-Brandenburg e.V and TÜV Pfalz e.V. merge to form the new TÜV Rheinland Berlin Brandenburg Pfalz e.V., which in the end became the TÜV Rheinland Group.
2004
Restructuring of the corporate group, centralizing operations under the umbrella of TÜV Rheinland Holding AG.
2005
Integration of LGA Beteiligungs GmbH
along with two leading Hungarian testing institutes.
2006
Entry into the United Nations Global Compact initiative.
Integration of Brazil’s two leading testing institutes into TÜV Rheinland do Brasil.
2007
Founding of a subsidiary in Australia
grants the TÜV Rheinland Group a presence on every continent (excluding Antarctica) through its own offices and subsidiaries.
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Renamed the TÜV Rheinland (Technical Inspections Organization) group in 1936, it employs more than 12,000 people in 360 locations in 62 countries and generates annual revenues of € 1.1 billion (40% outside of Germany). The group's guiding principle is to achieve sustained development of safety and quality in order to meet the challenges arising from the interaction between man, technology and the environment (thus the triangular logo).
Key business areas
TÜV Rheinland has bundled its more than 2.500 services into a portfolio of 42 global business fields. These are again combined into 6 business streams: Industrial Services (TÜV Rheinland Industrie Service), Mobility (TÜV Rheinland Mobilität), Products (TÜV Rheinland Produkte), Life Care (TÜV Rheinland Leben und Gesundheit), Training and Consulting (TÜV Rheinland Bildung und Consulting) and Systems (Systeme). The areas of testing include motor vehicles, industrial facilities and plants as well as consumer goods. Consumer goods for example can be tested and certified according to the German GS MarkGeprüfte Sicherheit
The Geprüfte Sicherheit or GS mark is a voluntary certification mark for technical equipment. It indicates that the equipment meets German and, if available, European safety requirements for such devices...
by TÜV Rheinland. Today TÜV Rheinland is a global leader in the areas of toy- and furniture testing as well as in the assessment and certification of Photovoltaics
Photovoltaics
Photovoltaics is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material...
.
Other services include the certification of management systems (according to ISO 9000
ISO 9000
The ISO 9000 family of standards relates to quality management systems and is designed to help organizations ensure they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders . The standards are published by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, and available through National...
/ ISO 9001) or market access
Market access
Market access for goods in the WTO means the conditions, tariff and non-tariff measures, agreed by members for the entry of specific goods into their markets. Tariff commitments for goods are set out in each member's schedules of concessions on goods. The schedules represent commitments not to...
services (which streamlines the importation and exportation of products) as an example.
History
The history of the TÜV Rheinland Group is the story of its growth from a regional testing organisation into an international provider of technical services. Today, the corporate group is active in 62 countries and in 42 Business Fields.The companies history can be traced back to 1872, when a group of entrepreneurs founded the "Dampfkessel-Überwachungs-Vereine
Dampfkessel Überwachungsverein
DÜVs were German organizations founded in the 19th century by a group of German entrepreneurs to ensure the technical safety of steam boilers, which was an immanent issue at that time.The charter of the organizations stated they were founded "to prevent steam boiler...
" (DÜV
Dampfkessel Überwachungsverein
DÜVs were German organizations founded in the 19th century by a group of German entrepreneurs to ensure the technical safety of steam boilers, which was an immanent issue at that time.The charter of the organizations stated they were founded "to prevent steam boiler...
) or "Steam Boiler Inspectorate". The aim of DÜV was to ensure technical safety of steam boilers, an immanent issue at that time.
1872
Entrepreneurs found the “Verein zur Überwachung der Dampfkessel” (an organization to inspect steam boilers) - the predecessor of TÜV Rheinland Group - in the districts of Elberfeld
Elberfeld
Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929.-History:The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "elverfelde" was in a document of 1161...
and Barmen
Barmen
Barmen is a former industrial metropolis of the region of Bergisches Land, Germany, which in 1929 with four other towns was merged with the city of Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia. Barmen was the birth-place of Friedrich Engels and together with the neighbouring town of Elberfeld founded the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to ensure the safety of their production facilities. Soon later authorities granted the organisation to carry out mandatory inspections.
1877
More than 80 operators of steam boilers merge and form the “Rheinischer Dampfkessel-Überwachungsverein (DÜV) Cöln-Düsseldorf”.
1900
DÜV inspects the first automobiles and administers driving license tests.
1918
DÜV expands its activities to include safety inspections in the mining and energy sector.
1936
DÜV becomes TÜV
Tuv
Tuv may refer to the following geographical locations:*Töv Province in Mongolia*Tuv in Hemsedal municipality, Buskerud, Norway*Tuv in Bodø municipality, Nordland, NorwayTUV may also refer to the following:*Tuvalu, a Pacific Island nation...
, Technische Überwachungsvereine (Technical Inspections Organizations) and Rheinischer DÜV becomes TÜV Köln.
1962
TÜV Köln, at that time with 600 employees and six offices, is renamed TÜV Rheinland e.V.
1967
Foundation of the first domestic TÜV Rheinland subsidiary.
1970
Foundation of the first foreign TÜV Rheinland subsidiary.
1978
TÜV Rheinland opens first office in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
with a representative office in Tokyo.
1980
TÜV Rheinland's first North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n office is opened in New York City.
1986
TÜV Rheinland establishes a branch office in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
1988
The first office in China is opened in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
1989
The first office in Mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
is established in Shanghai.
1992
TÜV Rheinland Holding AG (a holding corporation) is established to oversee the operations of the corporate group.
1995
TÜV Rheinland enters the South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n continent by offering Car Inspection Services in Córdoba, Argentina
Córdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
.
1997
TÜV Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. and TÜV Rheinland e.V. merge to form the new TÜV Rheinland Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.
2003
TÜV Rheinland Berlin-Brandenburg e.V and TÜV Pfalz e.V. merge to form the new TÜV Rheinland Berlin Brandenburg Pfalz e.V., which in the end became the TÜV Rheinland Group.
2004
Restructuring of the corporate group, centralizing operations under the umbrella of TÜV Rheinland Holding AG.
2005
Integration of LGA Beteiligungs GmbH
Landesgewerbeanstalt Bayern
Landesgewerbeanstalt Bayern or LGA is a certification company based in Nuremberg, Germany. It specializes in toy and furniture testing.-History:...
along with two leading Hungarian testing institutes.
2006
Entry into the United Nations Global Compact initiative.
Integration of Brazil’s two leading testing institutes into TÜV Rheinland do Brasil.
2007
Founding of a subsidiary in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
grants the TÜV Rheinland Group a presence on every continent (excluding Antarctica) through its own offices and subsidiaries.