Introducing Bureau Veritas
For many years Bureau Veritas (BV) has been one of the biggest Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) companies. By the end of 2015 the organization had more than 66,000 employees in more than 1400 offices around the globe, being present in about 140 countries.
The company was founded in 1828 as “Bureau de Renseignements pour les Assurances Maritimes” which translated means “Information Office Maritime Insurances”. Consequently the new company’s services were focused on the maritime business and it started operating in Antwerp, Belgium. Bureau Veritas was mainly collecting, verifying and providing maritime insurances with precise information about the condition of ships and other goods.
Later, in the 20th century the company became involved in new activities and set up inspections for metallic parts and inspections for the rail industry. Furthermore it developed a merchandise inspection system for imported and exported goods.
Today the organization’s headquarters is in Neuilly-sur-Seine (near Paris), France. It went public in 2007 and since then has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange. In the 21st century the company has been active in a variety of business fields such as Marine & Offshore, Industry, Construction, In-Service Inspection & Verification, Certification, Commodities, Consumer Products and Government Services & International Trade.
