History
Our history: from inspectorate to service provider
TÜV SÜD's roots date back to the first steam boiler inspection association, founded by steam boiler operators in 1866 in Mannheim as a private-sector regulatory body. The purpose of this inspectorate was to "protect people, the environment and property against technology-related risks". In the years that followed, similar associations sprang up in all industrial centres across Germany, in Baden, Bavaria, Hesse and Saxony. In Bavaria, for example, the "Bayerischer Dampfkessel-Revisions-Verein" was established.
Step by step, these associations (which evolved into today's TÜV SÜD subsidiaries after a progression of mergers) expanded their fields of activity in line with technological development – adding fields of operation including electricity, motor vehicles, fire safety, power stations, passenger lifts, cableways, nuclear power stations, environmental protection, product safety and management systems.
The last decades have witnessed consistent progress in the internationalisation of TÜV SÜD's activities in the European Single Market, in North America and Asia Pacific. Today, TÜV SÜD is a global provider of technical services.
Key milestones in the last decade
| 2003 | Foundation of TÜV Hanse in Hamburg |
| 2005 | TÜV SÜD Chemie Service established |
| 2006 | Expansion of services in Asia and Northern America by acquiring Singapore-based PSB Group and US inspection company PetroChem |
| 2008 | Initial and periodic testing of plants and installations now offered throughout Germany |
| 2009 | Launch of Turkey-wide vehicle inspection by TÜVTURK, a joint venture of TÜV SÜD and two Turkish partner companies |
| 2010 | Acquisition of US Global Risk Consultants Corporation (GRC), global market leader in unbundled risk management and property loss consulting |
| 2011 | Acquisition of South-African market leader in nondestructive material testing and inspection for energy industry (Pro-Tec Boiler Inspection and NDT Services) |