YOKOHAMA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The TUV Rheinland Group and ITACS announced that the companies have signed a definite agreement under which the TUV Rheinland Group will acquire ITACS, a leader in electrical safety testing for certification purposes of electrical and telecommunications, accessories and appliances for households, commercial and industrial use.

ITACS, headquartered in Adelaide, Australia, is a strategic addition to TUV Rheinland’s certification business. The acquisition will extend TUV Rheinland’s testing and certification capabilities and increase the company’s client base. ITACS issues Certificates of Conformity and has been accredited by the Joint Accreditation Scheme Australia and New Zealand (JASANZ) to ISO/IEC Guide 65 for product certification, thus, making it a great addition to the existing services of the TUV Rheinland Group in Australia.

With the acquisition of ITACS, the TUV Rheinland Group expands its services in Australia, providing customers with both independent testing and certification services and smooth operations when exporting and importing in Australia. In addition, the customers of ITACS will be presented with the access to TUV Rheinland’s global network.

“We are very excited about working with ITACS as a team and believe that this acquisition will leverage both companies’ services”, said Ralf Wilde, Executive Vice President ‘Products’, TUV Rheinland Holding AG and President & CEO, TUV Rheinland Group Asia. “ITACS’s market experience, dedication and great testing and certification services make it the ideal partner for the TUV Rheinland Group. Our combined expertise will create growth opportunities for our customers and employees.”

One new positive development which has already taken place with the acquisition is with regards to ITACS’s High Power Testing Laboratory in West Heidelberg, Victoria. This facility has its own 66,000 Volts switchyard feeding a specially built three phase short circuit transformer where tests of up to 80,000 Ampere for 1 second 440 Volts short circuit withstand tests are conducted. This location will now become the TUV Rheinland Group’s Global Competence Centre for High Power Testing. This decision was made after it was clearly demonstrated that this laboratory will bring significant benefits to clients world wide.

“We look forward to providing our customers a testing and certification service enhanced with access to the world wide network of the TUV Rheinland Group” says David Gray, Director of ITACS.

About the TUV Rheinland Group

TUV Rheinland Group is a leading provider of technical services worldwide. Founded in 1872 and headquartered in Cologne, Germany, the Group employs more than 13,300 people in over 490 locations in 61 countries and generated annual revenues of over € 1.1 billion. The Group’s mission and guiding principle is to achieve sustained development of safety and quality in order to meet the challenges arising from the interaction between man, technology, and the environment.

About ITACS

Established in Adelaide in 1980, International Testing and Certification Services Pty. Ltd. (ITACS) provides testing, certification, calibration and metrology facilities for the electrical industry within Australia and worldwide. ITACS performs electrical safety testing for certification purposes of electrical and telecommunications, accessories and appliances for households, commercial and industrial use. Staff comprises of engineers and technicians who have many years experience that includes representation on Standards Australia and IEC Technical Committees for electrical accessories, appliances and luminaries.