Kiwa: We create trust

We are Kiwa. With our assurance, testing, inspection, certification, training, consultancy and data 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 10,000 people in over 40 countries, in Europe, Asia, the Americas and Oceania. Since 2021 we are a member of SHV Family of Companies.

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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.

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:

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Download the infographic here.

1948
Dutch drinking water companies found Kiwa NV as Keuringsinstituut voor WaterleidingArtikelen
2005
Gastec added; first acquisitions in Germany; Inspecta Finland and Sweden merge
2006
ABN AMRO Participaties main Kiwa investor, facilitating diversification
2008
Kiwa expands into Spain and Sweden
2010
Kiwa Register and Kiwa BDA (Netherlands) added; Inspecta expands into Denmark and Lithuania
2011
Kiwa ISA Sport (Netherlands) added; new main investor NPM Capital
2012
Telefication (Netherlands) added; Kiwa expands into Turkey
2013
Kiwa Cermet (Italy, South Korea), Kiwa PAI (UK), Kiwa Jigam (Belgium, France), Kiwa KOAC (Netherlands) added
2014
Kiwa expands in Food, Feed & Farm via BCS Öko-Garantie in Germany, Latin America and China
2015
Kiwa R2B (Netherlands) and TI Norway added and 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, the UK and Finland
2019
Acheta (UK), AQS (France, Poland), FORCE (Sweden), Hobéon (Netherlands), Kalibra (Turkey), Moroni & Partners (Italy), QMSI (Germany, Netherlands) join Kiwa; Shield Group chooses new course outside of Kiwa
2020
Expansion via BCC (China), KVVM (the Netherlands), RMG (Denmark), Compass (Australia); divestment of Extend (Norway)
2021
We enter the solar PV market in the USA and expand our expertise in cyber security services. Intega Group and Vinçotte join Kiwa. The Kiwa Group becomes part of SHV Family of Companies.

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.