TÜV Rheinland – a shift is taking place: A new Executive Board and a new strategy
01-26-12Cologne
In 2011, TÜV Rheinland reported the best financial result in the company’s history: Turnover increased by 10 percent to over € 1.4 billion; it may be expected that the EBIT will reach a record level of more than € 120 million.
Dr.-Ing. Manfred Bayerlein, Chief Executive Officer of TÜV Rheinland AG: “2011 was a very good financial year for TÜV Rheinland. At year-end, all Business Streams and regions are in the black. The economic growth in Germany is excellent and beyond Germany we have a strong growth rate of more than 16 percent. The income is intended to be spent on the implementation of our future growth strategy.“
This year, TÜV Rheinland is celebrating its 140th anniversary. Established in 1872 in the city of Wuppertal as a regional organization, the company in 2011 finally managed to join the ranks of the global players of the industry. Approximately 50% of its turnover is generated by the international businesses, six of ten staff members are working outside Germany. ”This development was considered when the Executive Board of TÜV Rheinland AG was re-staffed,” said Dr.-Ing. Bayerlein. “We have unified the many international aspects and implemented far more technical competence right at the top level.” Two new positions were created to extend the board – the Chief International Officer and the Chief Technology Officer.
The ongoing globalization and industrialization in many regions of the world are the essential driving forces pushing ahead the story of success of TÜV Rheinland. In particular, product tests and industrial services as well as the rising demand for certifications in most different industrial sectors and regions may be called growth factors. Dr.-Ing. Manfred Bayerlein: ”Our customers do not ask for certain tests only, our customers expect complex solutions for their problems. Some years ago, TÜV Rheinland was a testing organization – now it is time to present ourselves as an organization providing tailor-made solutions.”
With this in mind, the Executive Board has begun to design the strategy 2017. In the years to come, TÜV Rheinland will become the most sustainable and independent service provider for testing, certification, consultancy and training for its customers the whole world over. In this context, the focus will be on the broad range of services and on staff as well.
In the foreseeable future, the decisive growth regions will be Asia, India, the Middle East, South Africa as well as South America. The growth drivers are the ongoing globalization, the developing national markets of these regions and the industrialization that recently has speeded up considerably.
In these countries, safety standards, environmental protection and climate change issues as well as the demographic development are increasingly gaining in importance for society. This is one reason why the competence of TÜV Rheinland to create expert solutions is highly demanded. Dr.-Ing. Bayerlein: ”We will by no means neglect our roots in Germany and in the European markets. On the other side, it is a fact that for our business the strongly growing markets are outside of Europe.“
Investments show record level
The economic growth of our company is also reflected by the investments TÜV Rheinland made in 2011 – with € 85 million showing a record level. New and expanded test centers were established among others in Turkey, in India and in Shanghai offering chiefly testing services for producers of consumer products (chemical, mechanical and electrical tests), and services for the solar and the furniture industry. The laboratories already existing in Cologne and in Nuremberg were expanded. In 2012, further investments will be made in testing laboratories in particular in Asia as well as in Europe. In Shanghai, the TÜV Rheinland test center with 17,000 square meters giving work to 300 members at the time will be expanded. In Nuremberg, the existing battery testing laboratory will be transformed to a highly modern state-of-the-art testing laboratory also accredited for electric car batteries tests – tests that have already been performed at the Yokohama location.
TÜV Rheinland continues to push forward with the targeted acquisition of companies as an element of its growth strategy. Dr.-Ing. Bayerlein: ”We search for companies to enhance our range of services or companies that are anchored in countries and industries where strong economic growth can be expected.”
Last year TÜV Rheinland took over the highly specialized testing services provider Sonovation in the Netherlands. The company offers non-destructive testing services for the oil and gas industry, including, among others, ultrasonic analyses, corrosion tests or methods to determine wall thicknesses of piping or pressure vessels, for example. In addition, TÜV Rheinland has taken over a highly specialized provider of testing services in Korea and so has strengthened its position in the field of radiation protection and safety analyses for the nuclear industry.
In 2011, TÜV Rheinland also expanded its traditional business of vehicle inspections. It took over three well-known centers for vehicle inspections in South Germany and acquired the majority interest in the French Société Européenne de Contrôle Technique Automobile (Secta Autosur). Secta Autosur established in 1990 and employing about 1,600 people is licensor for 800 test stations accredited to perform vehicle inspections all over France. With that, TÜV Rheinland carries out approximately 5.5 million general inspections on vehicles in many European countries but also in Argentina and in Chile.
At the beginning of this year, TÜV Rheinland acquired just another company. In January it took over Rail Safety Consulting (RSC) in the United States. The company has specialized in addressing the safety needs and regulations affecting modern electronic-based train control and signaling systems.
Economic growth is borne by competent staff members
In 2011, the number of staff increased by about 10 percent to 16,000 today. Staff qualification and competence are decisive factors for the successful implementation of our strategy. In the medium term, the number of employees shall grow worldwide by about 2,000 every year. Therefore, it is very important for our company to attract highly qualified experts. Dr.-Ing. Manfred Bayerlein: ”TÜV Rheinland is an attractive employer. As we aspire to be the best independent provider of testing and certification services worldwide, we are always trying to take on the best employees.”
In order to achieve this aim, TÜV Rheinland has to be accepted as an attractive employer brand. This applies to its international acceptance in particular. In Germany, TÜV Rheinland has been ranking for many years as one of the Top 30 of the most popular employers for engineers. In the growth markets of Asia and South America it is a very important objective to take on more and more international managers for executive positions. The diversity which is reflected by our 16,000 employees shall in future also be represented by the management positions.
When TÜV Rheinland was established 140 years ago, one of the aims pursued was to use resources efficiently, to increase safety and to support the customers – at those times the heavy industry.
Dr.-Ing. Manfred Bayerlein: ”Our strategy 2017 is a new translation of the aforementioned basic corporate values. Our services shall help our customers to be more successful. That means that our customers shall see our contribution as a value added factor. We want our customer to benefit from our services, we want to make their businesses more efficient and we want to enhance their economic performance. This added value may be seen as a factor of customer satisfaction – of course also as a factor for the great success of TÜV Rheinland.”
Photos of Dr.-Ing. Bayerlein and other press photos are available to download from www.tuv.com/presse .