DEKRA Fully Committed to Digitalization

In the global top league of testing companies, DEKRA performed above average in 2020 and expanded its position as a recognized partner for the testing, inspection and certification of intelligent and connected products. The effects of the pandemic have brought the dynamics of digitalization into focus. By 2025 - when DEKRA will be 100 years old - the company will have digitalized its entire service portfolio. “We will align the entire company with the opportunities of digitalization: from new forms of work to increased digital interaction and innovation to data-driven services,” says DEKRA CEO Stefan Ko¨lbl. “COVID-19 has further accelerated this transformation process.” The pandemic interrupted the 16-year growth trajectory in the 2020 financial year. Turnover is expected to fall by around 200 million euros to around 3.2 billion euros. Kölbl: “We have therefore performed better than expected under the given circumstances.”

 

• Centers for Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security founded
• E-mobility: pioneer in the testing of charging stations
• Respiratory masks: expert organization with largest test laboratory in Europe
• Independent trust center called for more security
• Sales decline by around 6 percent to 3.2 billion euros

The globally active expert organization invested more than 120 million euros - primarily in digitalization. As a result of the increased digital focus, the number of employees - excluding the temporary staffing business area - rose by 773 to 29,628. DEKRA is expected to have a total of 43,200 employees at the end of 2020 (previous year: 44,714). As part of the digitalization of services and processes, a “Center of Excellence” for artificial intelligence (AI) was established at the beginning of 2020. The aim is to use AI to improve existing services and develop new ones. “In our new AI Center of Excellence, we are using the experience we have been gathering since 2019 in the management of claims,” said DEKRA CEO Kölbl. In the Group-wide “Cyber Security Hub”, which was also established in 2020, DEKRA is working on solutions for the security challenges of digitalization. In the area of automotive cyber security, for example, this applies to software updates that are transferred over-the-air (wirelessly) to vehicles. The cyber security solutions involve testing, checking and auditing services as well as training on the various technologies and regulations.

As vehicles today are constantly generating data, data also plays a crucial role in road safety. In the "Trust Center" initiative launched in 2019, DEKRA is therefore calling for non-discriminatory, independent access to safety and environmentally relevant vehicle data. Without this, the proper condition and safety of vehicles can no longer be guaranteed in the future. The "Trust Center" is a trustee model for the secure collection and use of data in the interests of consumer protection. "The visionary trustee model is an important building block for road safety and consumer protection in the future," explained Stefan Kölbl about the initiative, which is also supported by other organizations.

DEKRA shapes the mobility of the future

DEKRA is also helping to shape the mobility of the future by participating in the "RealLabHH" research project in Hamburg. The aim is to find out which mobility solutions prove themselves in practice. Experts from the DEKRA Technology Center are contributing their expertise specifically on issues relating to the approval process for autonomous shuttles for public transport. These on-demand shuttles are part of the digital infrastructure that is being tested in real-life operations.

In China, the world's largest automotive market, DEKRA has strengthened its expertise in automated and connected driving by establishing a joint venture. Together with the Chinese partner, a state-of-the-art test center for testing key technologies relating to wireless communication, connectivity, AI, geo-information systems and cyber security is being set up.

Vehicle testing business holds its own in the crisis

In the first half of the year, Germany managed to slightly increase its market share in the periodic inspection of motor vehicles (Service Division Vehicle Inspection) to 33.6%. By contrast, other automotive-related services were affected by the crisis. For example, business with expert opinions declined due to falling accident figures and fewer natural hazard claims. In contrast, the DEKRA Technology Center at the Lausitzring was very busy following proactive investments in the emissions laboratory. Stefan Kölbl: "The expert demand for measurements on emissions, range and energy consumption of vehicles of all drive types is high. With service-oriented accreditations for the most important global markets, we are ideally positioned in Klettwitz as a partner to the automotive industry."

Internationally, DEKRA was able to further consolidate its position as world market leader with around 27 million vehicle inspections. The expansion in Denmark and Sweden went according to plan with 35 and 71 stations respectively. In the USA, eight emissions testing stations in the Albuquerque region of the state of New Mexico started testing business. The first of six emissions testing stations is expected to open in the state of Jalisco before the end of December. In Chile, the first of ten testing stations will go into operation next year in the province of Santiago after the concession was granted in 2019.

Takeovers and cooperations strengthen industrial business

The industrial inspection business (Service Division Industrial Inspection) has performed comparatively well in the difficult environment of the pandemic. Many customers have used the lockdown to inspect and test systems and materials. For example, DEKRA inspected Unit 4 at the Ringhals nuclear power plant in Sweden in record time with a team of more than 50 experts. The company's presence in China was expanded through the acquisition of the majority of ENERTIC Engineering Technical Co. Ltd, Beijing. ENERTIC has been supporting multinational and Chinese raw materials and energy companies in materials testing for two decades. Thanks to a cooperation with the Australian high-tech equipment supplier Nexxis, DEKRA has strengthened its expertise in automated and robot-based inspection in difficult and hazardous environments in Oceania.

DEKRA operates Europe's largest test laboratory for respiratory masks

DEKRA reacted very quickly to the COVID-19 crisis in the Product Testing Service Division. "We are by far the pioneers in Germany when it comes to testing respiratory masks," said CEO Kölbl about the DEKRA special laboratory in Essen. It is recognized as a notified body for filtering respiratory masks and is by far the largest testing laboratory for masks in Europe. Masks have been tested there on the basis of a recognized rapid test since mid-March 2020. Today, testing according to the demanding criteria of the PPE Regulation for FFP2 masks is in high demand.

DEKRA is also a pioneer in testing charging infrastructure for electromobility. Kölbl: "We are currently the pioneering provider worldwide that can offer end-to-end tests." The DEKRA test laboratory in Arnhem (Netherlands) is one of the few laboratories that can test high-performance charging stations. DEKRA has won a global tender in the growth area of functional safety, for example for electronics in motor vehicles: Functional safety tests and audits are carried out for the world's largest automotive supplier. With a new specialist laboratory in Stuttgart and the acquisition of the laboratories of the South Korean Movon Corporation, DEKRA has further strengthened its outstanding market position in the measurement of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and radio frequency (RF) testing, particularly for automotive manufacturers.

New accreditations secure future opportunities

The expert organization has improved its access to growth markets through further approvals. The Open Charge Alliance appointed DEKRA laboratories in Arnhem and Sterling/USA as official test laboratories for all aspects of measurement and billing between charging station operators. In the USA, DEKRA was awarded the status of an official testing laboratory (Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory/NRTL) by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In China, the China National Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) has recognized the DEKRA laboratories in Shanghai and Guangzhou in accordance with the China Compulsory Certification (CCC) standards. This enables DEKRA to offer international manufacturers in China inspection, testing and certification services from a single source. In addition, the DEKRA laboratory in Málaga (Spain) was one of the first laboratories ever to be certified according to the ioXt standard, which was developed by an alliance of manufacturers, industry associations and public institutions. According to this standard, devices for the Internet of Things (IoT) are tested for cyber security.

Digital learning scenarios

In the Education business area (Service Division Training), DEKRA has used the COVID-19 pandemic to intensify digital learning scenarios. Micro-learning plays an important role in this. They are played out via smartphone and use virtual and augmented reality elements. The "beacon content management system" DEKRA Tag.it promises growth for the future. This allows, for example, safety information in production halls or maintenance instructions for machines to be called up directly on site via smartphone. DEKRA was able to expand its customer-oriented Expert Migration program in Brazil to several regions following its launch in 2019. This tripled the number of participants to around 450. DEKRA uses the program to qualify nursing staff for their subsequent deployment in Germany.

The temporary staffing business area (Temp Work service division) has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of the end of October, around 1,200 of the more than 7,000 temporary workers in Germany were on short-time work.

New services relating to COVID-19 and sustainability

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, DEKRA added instructions on hygiene rules and the transportation of COVID-19 samples to its online safety portal DEKRA Safety Web. The portal subsequently recorded growth of 60 percent. It is now used by around 120,000 employees from more than 500 companies. DEKRA (Service Division Consulting) has developed a health and safety concept for work processes in the company and for the home office for a renowned pharmaceutical manufacturer. Initially for sites in the Netherlands and Ireland, and later in the year for the entire Group. The DEKRA laboratories in Arnhem and Málaga are supporting health authorities and clinics in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic with accelerated testing procedures for medical devices, such as ventilators.

DEKRA has also increased its involvement in the sociopolitically important field of sustainability. For example, six professional soccer clubs in Germany have taken part in DEKRA's "sustainClub" sustainability certification. "sustainClub" is the only recognized sustainability standard in professional soccer to date. With the certification, clubs can prove that they are committed in the three areas of economy, ecology and social issues. DEKRA further developed its own sustainability strategy in 2020 with specific targets up to 2025. For example, the company wants to reduce its carbon footprint by 50 percent compared to 2018 and review all suppliers with regard to their sustainability targets.

Confident outlook for 2021

"The 2020 financial year was characterized by the COVID-19 pandemic. But DEKRA has used the time to emerge stronger from the crisis," said Stefan Kölbl. "We have intensified our digitalization and innovation activities and built up new digital expertise." Even if it is currently impossible to predict how long the crisis and its effects will last, Kölbl believes that there are many reasons why DEKRA will be able to return to growth as soon as the situation normalizes. These reasons include the company's global presence, its new organizational structure and its good position in growth markets such as connected mobility, cyber security and sustainability.

Contact for journalists

Dr. Torsten Knödler Press Spokesman Economy +49.711.7861-2075 torsten.knoedler@dekra.com
Fax +49.711.7861-742075