Dear customers, dear employees,
Rarely has a year ended with so many questions about the future as 2025 – a year which has at the same time ushered in so many opportunities for change and transformation. While geopolitical and trade certainties established over decades have repeatedly been upended overnight, global economic forecasts have failed to come true, and technological disruptions have revolutionised entire industries at a rapid pace, we have collectively come to the insight that stability presupposes the ability to be an active force for change. It is in this tension between uncertainty and new beginnings that the importance of independent testing, reliable standards, the highest possible quality and technical safety continues to grow. This is where we in the TÜV NORD GROUP clearly see our core mission and core business: Our role is to create trust in increasingly complex and ever more digital technologies, markets and systems that are becoming indispensable for the economy and society at large. As the link between innovation and regulation, our nearly 16,000 employees enable new technologies to be safely and responsibly put to widespread use – and they do so at speed to enable progress and also carefully to manage risk.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is opening up great opportunities: AI is helping companies to identify dangers at an early stage, control processes with foresight and make data-based decisions. But the benefits can only be fully realised if the underlying AI systems are secure and trustworthy. Especially given an increase in cyber threats, hybrid attacks and growing demands on the robustness of critical infrastructures, resilience and protection must be our top priority.
At TÜV NORD, we support operators of critical infrastructures with tests and certifications that ensure a uniformly high level of safety – from plant safety and emergency plans to minimising downtime. At the same time, technical safety cannot come at the expense of social responsibility: After all, the stability of critical infrastructures, including defence facilities, forms the basis for the protection of our democratic values and an open, free society.
Building on the more than 1,500 services that we offer to our customers around the world, internationalisation and innovation were once again two main drivers of our business development:
- Mobility: With its cloud-based DRACI (Damage Report And Calculation Inspection) system, TÜV NORD is accelerating the preparation of expert reports in cases of vehicle damage. Calculation data can be processed directly, spare parts ordered immediately and workshop planning started without delay. With DRACI, car dealerships, workshops and TÜV NORD partner offices are currently processing their damage assessments at least two working days faster than before.
- Industry: TÜV NORD Indonesia’s test laboratory for consumer goods and calibration, which was founded in 2015 and expanded as recently as 2021, is already reaching its capacity limit. To meet the steadily increasing demand and open up new market segments, our Indonesian subsidiary is making targeted investments in the expansion of testing and calibration capacities and consolidating its position as the leading provider of testing and certification services in the region.
- Energy & Resources: On behalf of the Berlin Senate, DMT is exploring the potential of deep geothermal energy for climate-neutral heat supply to the German capital. “Vibro trucks” and geophones are being used to obtain geological data from a depth of several kilometres, which will serve as a model for other major cities. To allow it to achieve its climate targets, the German government is pushing ahead with the expansion of deep geothermal energy as a central pillar of the heating transition.
- Certification: With the acquisition in 2025 of the Singapore-based EPI companies, TÜV NORD became the world’s leading provider of certification and training services for data centres. Driven by the enormous demand for computing power for artificial intelligence, TÜV NORD is positioning itself in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for IT. In some projected large-scale AI data centres, the cooling capacities exceed one gigawatt. This places the highest demands on availability and operational energy efficiency.
- Digital & Semiconductor: Our international group of companies under the ALTER brand is lending key support to the European Space Agency ESA’s “Zero Debris Charter” and jointly developing solutions for debris-free satellite orbits in space. Satellites are becoming increasingly indispensable for Earth observation, telecommunications and navigation, but the growing amount of debris in space – 40,000 catalogued pieces larger than ten centimetres in the relevant orbits alone – poses a threat to these systems. TÜVIT is supporting an equally revolutionary development in its new laboratory for the investigation and certification of quantum key distribution (QKD) processes. More on this on page 22 of this Annual Report.
- People & Empowerment: The TÜV NORD Akademie is promoting self-directed learning and the use of digital tools to make vocational training more flexible and future-oriented. VR- and AI-supported trainings are central components of its strategy, with which the academy aims to become one of the world’s leading providers of fully digital learning solutions.
In 2025, accolades were once again awarded for special corporate achievements: The innoTANK project (TÜV NORD cooperation with start-ups) received the “Innovator of the Year” award, and the DMT RideGuard product, an AI-supported system for monitoring amusement parks and rides, was singled out for the German Excellence Award.
Despite the challenges that affected many industries in 2025, the TÜV NORD GROUP continued to improve its economic performance. Revenue rose to 1,794.7 million euros (up 6.0 percent), while operating profit before special items (EBIT) amounted to 94.8 million euros. This success is down to our employees worldwide. With your knowledge, commitment and passion for safety and quality, you make it possible for us to offer our customers services at the very highest level every day.
My special thanks also go to our partners and shareholders and the supervisory and staff councils who worked with us in the 2025 fiscal year. One exclusive highlight was the opening of the state-of-the-art clean room testing environment for the testing and final assembly of semiconductors operated by our subsidiary ALTER US in the American state of Minnesota. This new business will meet the rapidly growing demand for highly reliable microelectronics for key industries such as aerospace, defense, medical technology, automotive and automation. The facility will strengthen the semiconductor ecosystem in the US while creating high-quality jobs. At a time when international cooperation and technological innovation are crucial for progress and security, this commitment is also a contribution to the transatlantic partnership. The title of this year’s Annual Report is “Paving the way to security”. This gives expression to what drives us: We go beyond merely testing for security in that we actively create the conditions for security to be achieved – through innovation, taking responsibility and international cooperation. On behalf of the entire Board of Management and the Group Executive Committee, I look forward to continuing to provide our customers with ways and opportunities to achieve even higher levels of security in the future – in Germany, in Europe and worldwide.
Kind regards,
Dr. Dirk Stenkamp
Chairman of the Board of Management
TÜV NORD AG