Introducing Intertek

Besides the other big Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) companies, Intertek has several roots from which it was founded. To be more exact there were three different businesses, a marine survey business, a testing laboratory and a lamp testing centre. The lamp testing centre was established by Thomas Edison, the famous inventor, in 1896.

These three businesses were acquired by Inchcape mainly during the 1980s and early 1990s. Further acquisitions of TIC companies were stopped as Inchcape Testing Services was acquired itself by Charterhouse in 1996. The new owner changed the name of its testing activities to Intertek. However, even today Intertek is still known under the abbreviations ITS (Inchcape Testing Services).

The organization’s headquarters is in London and it manages about 1000 offices in around 100 countries with about 30,000 employees. Intertek is big in testing of consumer goods and thereby works with retailers and brands around the world. Products like textile, toys, footwear, furniture and sporting goods are examples of consumer products Intertek is handling today.