Technical Service opens testing centre in Belgium

The Belgian town of Malle, centrally located between the European import ports of Zeebrugge, Antwerp and Rotterdam, is now home to a testing centre operated by the Technical Service arm of TÜV NORD Mobilität. It is here that the Import and Export Service (SIMEX) of the Institute of Vehicle Technology and Mobility (IFM) is going to be carrying out individual inspections of vehicles being introduced onto the European market from overseas via the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam.

In this state-of-the-art facility, which is fitted out with equipment which meets the strict German requirements and calibrated according to the current rigorous requirements, the vehicles are checked for compliance with the European requirements. The customers are private individuals and dealers who are interested in these vehicles, some of which are quite exotic, and wish to drive them on European roads. The tests primarily concern emissions (exhaust gas or noise), lighting systems, braking systems and even electromagnetic compatibility.

As the head of the IFM Leif-Erik Schulte explains: “We’re going to be offering our services close to the point of entry, rather like we do in Bremerhaven, meaning that we’re going to be working in a customer-focused way.”

Hartmut Abeln, Chairman of the Board of Management of TÜV NORD Mobilität, adds: “The services we’re going to be offering our customers here in Belgium are part of our international activities. We’re convinced that, as a technical service, we can deploy our expertise for the benefit of all market participants.”

In Dirk Duchateau, owner of KAROSSE bvba, TÜV NORD has found a cooperation partner who is well connected in the local industrial scene. At the inauguration of the testing centre, in keeping with the age-old German custom, he was presented with bread and salt as a symbol of future success.