Die TÜV NORD GROUP konnte im Geschäftsjahr 2023 das Vertrauen der weltweiten Kunden in technische Zuverlässigkeit, digitale Sicherheit und Nachhaltigkeit von Pr
At a glance:
In the 2023 financial year, the TÜV NORD GROUP was able to further increase the trust of global customers in the technical reliability, digital security and sustainability of products and processes. “Thanks to our high level of expertise and experience, people all over the world can rely on the fact that major technological transformations such as artificial intelligence or sustainable forms of energy will benefit our customers, but also society and the environment,” said Dirk Stenkamp, CEO of TÜV NORD AG, at the annual press conference in Hanover. "As a reliable and highly innovative partner to our customers, we are actively driving forward the energy, mobility, digital and sustainability transition - in our home market of Germany as well as in many of the more than 100 countries in which we operate. In many cases, it is our core services that make the broad social acceptance of new technologies possible in the first place. This high level of customer trust is also reflected in our key economic figures for the 2023 financial year."
Successfully implementing the energy transition
"The energy transition is the greatest challenge and opportunity for Germany since reunification. It must succeed in order to establish and confirm Germany as a leading business location for sustainable technologies worldwide," continued Dirk Stenkamp. “The transformation of our energy industry into a secure, affordable and climate-neutral energy supply is a mammoth project in which much remains to be done.” With its extensive expertise and experience in the generation, transportation, storage and conversion of energy forms, the TÜV NORD GROUP is a key partner to the energy industry and to ministries and authorities at federal, state and local level.
“Hydrogen will play a central role on the road to climate neutrality,” emphasized Dirk Stenkamp. "We need the rapid and efficient expansion of electrolysis capacities from green electricity as well as an effective import strategy for hydrogen and a reliable infrastructure for the transportation and storage of hydrogen on a large scale. Politicians have set the course, now the planned large-scale hydrogen projects must be implemented. We need to shift up at least one gear when it comes to Germany's much-cited pace." TÜV NORD won the German Renewables Award 2023 in the “Hydrogen Innovation of the Year” category. TÜV NORD GROUP experts support their customers worldwide in the decarbonization of the energy industry (excerpt):
AI applications for even more customer focus and less bureaucracy
Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly important role as an assistant and co-pilot for the TÜV NORD GROUP's products and services. AI is already being used in all areas of the company: as the TÜV NORD chatbot “Sophie” and as the intelligent sensor data platform “Safeguard”.
The intelligent TÜV NORD voice assistant “Voize” is used in the general inspection of motor vehicles to make test results available even more easily and quickly and to relieve employees of recurring routine tasks. AI-based image analysis is used to assess the condition of wind turbines during inspections. Since the beginning of 2024, all employees have been able to use the Group's own TÜV NORD GPT. “With the TÜV AI.Lab in Berlin, which was launched in 2023, we are continuing to drive forward the development of methods and standards for testing safety-critical AI applications in particular,” says Dirk Stenkamp. “To this end, we are implementing requirements from the EU AI Act in test criteria and processes for independent third-party testing.” By supporting AI, the TÜV NORD GROUP is making an active contribution to reducing bureaucracy and resource efficiency.
Certification for sustainable raw materials
A newly developed certification scheme called TÜV NORD CERA 4in1 demonstrates how sustainably raw materials are extracted and used for consumer products such as cell phones or the construction of large-scale technical plants. The standard, developed jointly by the company's subsidiaries DMT and TÜV NORD CERT, is the first to provide holistic proof that raw materials are extracted and processed in an ecologically, socially and economically sustainable manner, from exploration through extraction and processing to use in the end product. The TÜV NORD CERA 4in1 Performance Standard is the first such standard on the market - three further CERA 4in1 standards will follow in 2025 to 2026.
Balance sheet: record values also in 2023
“With our financial strategy, we are making the TÜV NORD GROUP better and better and positioning it for the future,” said CFO Jürgen Himmelsbach. In 2023, 134 million euros were invested, more than ever before in the company's 150-year history. At EUR 56.5 million, M&A investments also reached an all-time high. In addition, the Group invested in customer-friendly TÜV NORD stations for vehicle-related services and a new location in Dortmund (PHOENIX West). “With the acquisition of two companies in Singapore in 2023, we have further expanded our presence in the field of system certifications in the South Asian market,” Himmelsbach continues. "Avanta Global currently offers training and examinations for more than 5,500 companies. The Avanta Academy conducts these programs for private customers." The acquisition of TÜVLITA is also developing very successfully. The company, which originally focused on vehicle inspections, has expanded its portfolio to include activities in occupational medicine and health and safety as well as inspections for elevators and the use of renewable energies.
Despite the sale of a major company at the beginning of 2023, turnover developed very positively with an increase of 9.1%. Since a corona-related decline in 2020, the increase in Group sales has thus continued for another year. “The TÜV NORD GROUP is also doing very well in the other relevant key figures,” says Jürgen Himmelsbach. The equity ratio in 2023 was 28 percent, and the operating result amounted to 84.5 million euros. The TÜV NORD GROUP has a positive net financial position, Himmelsbach continued.
Key figures at a glance:
Opening up digital “learning worlds”
The TÜV NORD GROUP is driving the future of learning with its investment in 3spin Learning. The Darmstadt-based company is a leading provider of software for immersive learning experiences. In view of the fact that real learning locations are often difficult to access and activities are potentially dangerous (e.g. when working on offshore wind turbines or in steam boilers), TÜV NORD is now opening up new, digital perspectives for seminar participants and internal employee training with the rapidly growing Extended Reality (XR) area. Astrid Petersen, Chief Human Resources Officer and Labor Director: "More than ever, we need to prepare our employees for the demands of the future through excellent training and further education. Immersive, experience-oriented learning is an important key to this."
Award-winning employer
The TÜV NORD GROUP was recently recognized as a “Leading Employer” for the sixth time in a row and for the first time took first place nationwide in the “Services” sector comparison. The associated study “Leading Employers 2024”, for which data from more than 200,000 companies was evaluated, confirms that the Group is among the top 1 percent of employers in Germany. In Lower Saxony and Hanover, the TÜV NORD GROUP once again took first place.
Astrid Petersen also emphasized the importance of diversity within the Group: "Diversity is part of our TÜV NORD family and is firmly anchored in our guidelines. We clearly position ourselves in favor of openness to the world and democracy. People from 80 nations work in our company, and we want to continue to grow at home and abroad."
Founded over 150 years ago, we stand for security and trust worldwide. As a knowledge company, we have our sights firmly set on the digital future. Whether engineers, IT security experts or specialists for the mobility of the future: in more than 100 countries, we ensure that our customers become even more successful in the networked world.