DEKRA Forms Joint Venture in Taiwan and Mainland China

STUTTGART, Germany, May 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Expansion to include environmental reliability and failure analysis in Asia

DEKRA is expanding its operations in Taiwan and mainland China with a joint venture specialising in the environmental reliability and failure analysis of electronic systems used in automotive, IT, telecommunication and LED lighting applications. On 11 May 2015, DEKRA signed a joint venture agreement with the iST Group based in Hsinchu, Taiwan, to form DEKRA iST Reliability Services, with DEKRA holding a 51% share in this joint venture. 

The listed company Integrated Service Technology (iST), which is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, brings to the joint venture its business segments specialising in the reliability testing and failure analysis of printed circuit boards (PCBs), printed circuit boards assemblies (PCBAs), electronic modules and systems. These segments will be carved out of the iST Group.

The joint venture employs around 110 people and runs laboratories in Hsinchu near Taipei as well as in China, in Kunshan near Shanghai. With its high-tech testing services for PCBs, PCBAs, modules and systems, the joint venture supports a wide range of well-known companies from, among others, the automotive, automotive electronics, IT, telecommunications and LED lighting industries.

"This is a key transaction for DEKRA's product testing business in Asia because it allows us to enhance our service offering for customers in strategic markets," says Ivo Rauh, the DEKRA SE Management Board member responsible for the DEKRA Industrial business unit. "Our customers will increasingly benefit from our safety know-how, even as early as the R&D stage. The testing services offered by DEKRA, the access to international manufacturers and the procedures in place at iST complement each other perfectly."

This is DEKRA's second acquisition in the field of electronics testing in a short space of time in Taiwan and mainland China. At the start of the year, DEKRA acquired the QuieTek Corporation in Taipei, which provides EMC and wireless testing services for companies in the IT, electronics and automotive industries. QuieTek, too, runs laboratories in Taiwan and China.

"Thanks to their regional proximity, exciting industry orientation and the fact that both companies complement each other technologically, QuieTek and DEKRA iST can together leverage major synergies for the further expansion of our activities," says Bert Zoetbrood, head of DEKRA's Product Testing and Certification global business unit. We see huge potential for expanding our global footprint in the electronics testing business. This partnership with iST is particularly important for strengthening our position, especially in the fast-growing automotive electronics supply chain as well as in the consumer electronics and lighting industries."

About DEKRA 

DEKRA has been active in the field of safety for 90 years. Founded in 1925 in Berlin as Deutscher Kraftfahrzeug-Überwachungs-Verein e.V., it is today one of the world's leading expert organizations. DEKRA SE is a subsidiary of DEKRA e.V. and manages the Group's operating business. DEKRA generated sales of around €2.5 billion in 2014. The company currently employs around 35,000 people in more than 50 countries on all five continents. With qualified and independent expert services, they work for safety on the road, at work and at home. These services range from vehicle inspection and expert appraisals to claims services, industrial and building inspections, safety consultancy, testing and certification of products and systems, as well as training courses and temporary work. The vision for the company's 100^th birthday in 2025 is that DEKRA will be the global partner for a safe world.  

http://www.dekra.de/presse

Contact
Tilman Vögele-Ebering
Phone (direct): +49-711-7861-2122
Fax (direct): +49-711-7861-2913
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE DEKRA SE