What connects all parts of today’s Kiwa worldwide is safeguarding people’s health and safety through a high-quality verification service. In many cases, this role originated from a government mandate in sectors such as gas, energy and drinking water, as well as construction and production safety.
The Kiwa that gave the current company its name was founded in 1948 by the Dutch drinking water companies. They wanted to safeguard the drinking water supply in the country by having all materials and components that could come into contact with drinking water tested.
At that time, KIWA (then still in capital letters) stood for ‘KeuringsInstituut voor WaterleidingArtikelen’ (Inspection Institute for Water Supply Articles). We have dropped this abbreviation because the field of work of today’s Kiwa is much broader than the drinking water sector alone. We operate globally in a wide range of markets and offer a broad spectrum of products and services.
1948
Dutch drinking water companies establish Kiwa NV as the KeuringsInstituut voor WaterleidingArtikelen (Inspection Institute for Water Supply Articles).
2005
Gastec becomes part of Kiwa; first acquisitions in Germany; Inspecta Finland and Sweden merge.
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) and Kiwa KOAC (Netherlands) added.
2014
Kiwa expands in food, feed & farm through BCS Öko-Garantie in Germany, Latin America and China.
2015
Kiwa R2B (Netherlands) and TI Norway added; Inspecta, the asset health company in Northern Europe, joins the Kiwa family.
2016
CoMore joins Kiwa; company-wide rebranding of Kiwa starts.
2017
Company-wide rebranding to Kiwa; close cooperation with NIBE and expansion in France, Finland and Australia.
2018
Kiwa expands into Portugal and 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 takes a new direction outside Kiwa.
2020
Expansion through BCC (China), KVVM (Netherlands), RMG (Denmark), Compass (Australia); divestment of Extend (Norway).
2021
We enter the PV solar market in the US and expand our cybersecurity services expertise. Intega Group and Vinçotte join Kiwa. The Kiwa Group becomes part of the SHV Family of Companies.
2023
Kiwa celebrates its 75th anniversary. With a presence in more than 35 countries worldwide, Kiwa’s future focus is on further strengthening its position within and beyond Europe, including North America, Latin America, Asia and the Australia-Pacific region.
Companies now known as Kiwa Industrial Inspection were part of Inspecta, the largest inspection company in Northern Europe and the Baltic states. Kiwa Industrial Inspection focuses on inspecting all kinds of assets in, among others, the (metal) industry, residential construction, maritime sector and mining industry.
We create trust for a better tomorrow
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.
