Kiwa: We create trust

We are Kiwa, a world top 20 leader in Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC). With our certification, inspection, testing, training and consultancy services, we create trust in our customers' products, services, processes, (management) systems and employees.

We do so in a wide variety of markets segments, ranging from construction and energy supply to drinking water, healthcare, food, feed & farming. Areas of expertise include management systems, corporate social responsibility and lab testing, among many others.

We have clients in manufacturing and process industries, (business) services, public and private utilities, governments and international institutions.

Kiwa employs over 4,300 people in more than 100 offices in over 40 countries across the world, mainly in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Kiwa history

The roots of entities around the globe that form the present-day Kiwa lie in the safeguarding of people's health and safety by providing a high quality verification service. In many cases, this role originated from a governmental mandate in sectors including gas, energy, drinking water and construction or production safety.

Download the infographic by clicking the image

The Kiwa that gives the present-day company its name was founded in 1948 by the Dutch drinking water companies, They wanted to safeguard drinking water supply in the country by having every item that might come into contact with drinking water, examined. In those days, KIWA (in capitals) was an acronym for Keuringsinstituut voor WaterleidingArtikelen (Institution for the Examination of Waterworks Articles). Nowadays, we've dropped the acronym as today's Kiwa comprises much more than just drinking water expertise. We're globally active in a wealth of markets, offering a broad range of products and services.

Some key milestones in Kiwa history:

1948
Dutch drinking water companies found Kiwa NV as Keuringsinstituut voor WaterleidingArtikelen
2005
Kiwa takes over Gastec NV in the Netherlands, the UK and Italy
2008
Kiwa spreads out into Spain and Sweden
2010
NPM Capital steps into Kiwa NV
2011
Kiwa enters the sport sector via ISA Sport
2012
Kiwa expands into Turkey
2013
Kiwa expands into mobility infrastructure via KOAC-NPC
2014
Kiwa expands in Food, Feed & Farm via BCS Öko-Garantie in Germany, Latin America and China
2015
Inspecta, the asset health company in Northern Europe, joins the Kiwa family
2016
CoMore joins Kiwa; company-wide Kiwa rebranding starts
2017
Company-wide rebranding to Kiwa, close cooperation with NIBE and expansion in France, Finland and Australia
2018
Kiwa expands into Portugal, further expansion in Germany and Finland

In the meantime, other companies with their own histories have joined the Kiwa family.

Companies now referred to as Kiwa Inspecta were part of Inspecta, the largest inspection company in Northern Europe and the Baltics. Kiwa Inspecta focuses on inspecting all kinds of assets in industry, housing, the maritime sector, metals and mining and other market segments.