History

The Intertek story starts at the inception of the modern testing industry. The history of Intertek spans 124 years and evolves from the combined growth of a number of innovative companies.

1885-1904

Milton Hersey pioneers the idea of independent test laboratories.

Thomas Edison establishes the Lamp Testing Bureau.

Marine surveying business founded by Caleb Brett.

1885

Caleb Brett founds a marine surveying business to offer independent testing and certification of ships' cargoes.

1888

Milton Hersey establishes a small chemical testing laboratory in Montreal, Quebec, pioneering the idea of independent testing laboratories. The concept gains acceptance and the lab diversifies.

1896

Thomas Edison establishes the Lamp Testing Bureau of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company - marking the origin of the world's electric light and power industry.

1904

Edison renames his Lamp Testing Bureau 'Electrical Testing Laboratories', which over time is shortened to 'ETL'.

1905-1924

The Esperanza Copper and Sulphur Company Ltd, that later acquired Caleb Brett, is established.

Electrical Testing Laboratories supplies testing facilities to General Electric.

1911

Willis Carrier invents the modern principles of air conditioning - an industry that would soon support Electrical Testing Laboratories' growth.

1920

Electrical Testing Laboratories remotely locates portions of its operations within General Electric (GE) facilities to ensure the quality of GE's lighting products.

1925-1944

SEMKO founded, leading to the registration of the S-Mark.

The Chas. Warnock Company is formed, for the inspection of steel products.

1925

SEMKO is founded to address Swedish electronic and electrical manufacturer's product safety testing and certification needs. One year later the well-known S-Mark is registered.

1927

Charles Warnock forms the Chas. Warnock Company in Montreal, specialising in inspections of steel products.

1935

SEMKO is accredited as a product safety testing organisation, by the Swedish government, for its mandatory certification system.

1937

Electrical Testing Laboratories becomes the charter member of the ACIL - Preston Strong Miller, Electrical Testing Laboratories' president, is named association head.

1942

Electrical Testing Laboratories becomes independent and employee-owned.

1945-1964

Merger leads to establishment of the Warnock Hersey Company - the largest testing company in Canada.

Electrical Testing Laboratories begins Air-conditioning testing.

SEMKO becomes a charter member of the Nordic Certification Services.

1945

Ellis Research and Testing Laboratories is established in Albury. Surrey (U.K.) to accommodate the region's electrical testing needs.

1954

Milton Hersey's lab, the Chas. Warnock Company, and the Canadian Inspections Company's building materials expertise and the G.S. Eldridge Assay Company's mineral testing talents merge to from the Warnock Hersey Company - making it the largest and most diverse testing and inspection entity in Canada.

1955

SEMKO becomes a charter member of the newly established Nordic Certification Services. This accreditation provides manufacturers with the luxury of conducting their product safety testing with one laboratory, and obtaining the certification marks for market entry into the Nordic countries.

1959

Electrical Testing Laboratories begins testing equipment for the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI). Today, Intertek is a leading tester of the industries' products.

1961
SEMKO becomes a member of the CB Scheme. Today, SEMKO is the world-leading issuer of CB certificates. The CB, an international program run by the IECEE (International Electro-technical Commission for Electrical Equipment), provides manufacturers a simplified way of obtaining multiple national safety certifications for their products - providing entry into over 40 countries.

The Esperanza Copper and Sulphur Company Limited acquires Caleb Brett.

1962

Warnock Hersey's addition of Macdonald and Macdonald, specializing in lumber grading, makes Warnock Hersey the most comprehensive testing conglomerate in Canada.

1965-1974

Albury Laboratories, the pioneer in the shipping container testing business, becomes largest of its kind in Europe.

Inchcape moves into the testing industry with the establishment of Labtest.

1967

The Ellis Research and Testing laboratory is sold to Arthur Tebby, who then takes on the name Albury Laboratories Ltd., and expands its testing facilities.

Late 1960s

Albury Laboratories, now a pioneer in the shipping container testing business, is heralded as the largest entity of its kind in Europe.

1965 - 1970

Warnock Hersey is the first testing organistion that successfully challenges the Canadian Gas Association, Underwriters Laboratory and the Canadian Standards Association's Canadian product certification business.

Early 1970s

Warnock Hersey opens its Antioch, California, laboratory, making it the first testing organisation to handle client needs across country borders.

1970s

Albury Laboratories further expands its scope to include testing aircraft nose cones, soil, concrete, specialty paints (Albury Polymers), and crash helmets to the American Schnell standard.

1973

Labtest Hong Kong Ltd is established. Labtest serves the internal needs of the Dodwell companies - a multi-national corporation acquired by Inchcape the year before - specifically, textile testing, making it the first commercial consumer goods testing facility in Hong Kong.

1975-1984

Inchcape acquires multiple testing and inspection companies.

ETL launches Product Safety Certification Programme.

Labtest expands operations to include inspection services for consumer goods.

1975

Labtest establishes business relations with United States-based testing organisations and expands scope to include testing and inspection services for consumer goods.

1976

GTE creates its Evaluation and Support Department (ESD) to conduct product performance evaluations on prospective suppliers' customer premise equipment (CPE), and transmission and switching products to be used in GTE's operating network.

1977-1978

Electrical Testing Laboratories changes its corporate name to ETL Testing Laboratories, relocates from New York City to Cortland, N.Y., and launches the product Safety Certification Program.

1979

Labtest continues international expansion - sets up first lab outside of Hong Kong, based in the Philippines. Also opens new labs in: Taiwan (1982), New York City (1983), Singapore (1984), Thailand (1985) and the United Kingdom (1987).

1980

DS and G is established in Brookline, Massachusetts, to serve local Boston high-tech and electronics industries' testing and certification needs.

1981

Albury Laboratories, with its staff of 25, forges a well-known reputation for electrical safety and toy testing. Inchcape acquires multiple testing and inspection companies, varying in focus from petroleum, petrochemical, textiles, electronics and minerals testing to foreign trade supervision operations.

1983

ESD, the division created by GTE in 1979, adds outside plant products to its testing capabilities.

1984

ITS is awarded its first government Contract for pre-shipment inspection (PSI) (in Nigeria).

1985-1989

SEMKO begins testing computer monitor emissions.

GTE TestMark Laboratories offers third party testing services.

Inchcape acquires ETL Testing Laboratories.

Leading safety consulting company RAM joins Labtest.

1986

SEMKO begins testing the emissions of computer monitors, and today SEMKO is the leading testing organisation for the international TCO Marking. ESD changes its name to GTE TestMark Laboratories-offers commercial, third-party testing services to outside clients.

1987

Inchcape makes operational changes and forms Inchcape Testing Services.

Inchcape dissolves the Dodwell name to form business streams, and places Labtest in its testing business stream.

1988

RAM (Risk Analysis & Management™) is founded as a wholly owned subsidiary and division within Labtest. With clients such as McDonalds' toy safety program, RAM is the world's leading safety consulting company committed to leading the advancement of the safety industry through innovation in research, evaluation and education.

TestMark's growth expands the company to 72 employees and three locations throughout Lexington, Kentucky. Inchcape acquires ETL Testing Laboratories.

DS&G is the first independent laboratory in the U.S. to be accepted by the Defense Electronics Supply Center to carry out conductive gasket testing.

1989

DS&G is recognised by the OSHA as a NRTL for product safety testing and certification.

ETL Testing Laboratories is recognised by OSHA as a NRTL for product safety testing and certification.

1990-1994

Inchcape acquires Warnock Hersey.

Inchcape acquires Albury Laboratories.

TestMark becomes one of the world's largest wireless testing organisations.

Inchcape acquires SEMKO.

Inchcape acquires TestMark.

1991

ITS Intertek Services is the first company in the U.S. to receive RvA accreditation, shortly after ISO 9000 debuts in North America.

Inchcape acquires DS&G.

ETL Testing Laboratories conducts its first SEMI S2 evaluation.

1992

Warnock Hersey, in a bid to serve customers on a global basis, seeks an international partner during the late 1980s. Consequently, the Inchcape, plc group acquires Warnock Hersey in 1992.

ETL Testing Laboratories and Environmental and Occupational Risk Management Inc., (EORM) complete joint SEMI S2-91 evaluation, pre-qualified as preferred third-party testing organisation to Intel Corporation.

SEMKO is verified and certified to conduct EMC testing and establishes its EMC center.

1992-1994

Inchcape acquires Albury Laboratories, and in 1994 opens its EMC and gas appliance testing facilities.

1993

Intertek operations in Canada are among the first registrars in Canada to be accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) for ISO 9000.

TestMark is awarded by The Cellular Telecommunication Industry Association (CTIA) its program's performance testing business, helping to position TestMark as one of the world's largest wireless testing organisations.

1994

Inchcape acquires SEMKO from the Swedish government.

Inchcape acquires TestMark from GTE.

1995-2000

Intertek is amongst the first to be QS-9000 approved for the automotive industry and  registers to be the first commercial carrier in the U.S. to ISO 9001.

Inchape Testing Services is purchased and is renamed Intertek Testing Services, Ltd.

1995

ITC Intertek Services is the first company in the U.S. to receive UKAS accreditation for ISO 14001, environmental management system, and among the first to be QS-9000 approved for the automotive industry. ITC Intertek Services certifies UPS (United Parcel Service) to ISO 9001.

1996

Inchcape Testing Services is purchased by Charterhouse Development Capital, a global investment company, and is renamed Intertek Testing Services, Ltd. , forming the present day Intertek.

1997

Intertek sets precedents and registers the first commercial carrier in the U.S. to ISO 9001, the United Airlines Engine Maintenance Division.

Intertek and ERM form joint venture focusing on servicing capital equipment suppliers for the global semiconductor marketplace, named Global Semiconductor Safety Services (GS3).

1998

Intertek continues its pioneering ways and seeks formal accreditation to Tool & Equipment Supplement (Supplement to QS-9000), TL 9000, and AS9000, the aerospace industry's version of QS-9000.

1999

Intertek purchases of ERM's 50 percent share of GS3, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of Intertek.

Intertek is awarded the world's first combined customs modernisation, anti-smuggling and PSI contract in Georgia.

2001-2009

Intertek lists on the London Stock Exchange and continues to acquire multiple companies in various areas of quality and safety services, expanding its business and reach globally

CEO of 20 years Richard Nelson retires, replaced by Wolfhart Hauser.

March 2009 Intertek enters the FTSE 100

2002

Intertek lists on the London Stock Exchange, becoming Intertek Group plc, with a market capitalisation of £614m on 29 May 2002 and enters FTSE 250. Intertek's stock symbol is ITRK.

2003

Acquisition of Fastech, a textile testing business based in the UK.

Acquisition of Amtac, notified body for medical device directive in the UK

2004

Acquisition of Westlab Group, laboratory facility for the petroleum industry.

Acquisition of ASG, experts in fine and specialty chemical analysis

Acquisition of Kelley Completion Services, experts in Upstream Oil & Gas services in the Gulf of Mexico

2005

Richard Nelson, CEO of 20 years retires. Wolfhart Hauser is appointed CEO.

Intertek makes 12 acquisitions with a net consideration of £46.9m. These include Westport Technology, Automotive Research Laboratory and Parc Technical Services in the US and KPMG Certification in India and Dubai.

Intertek organizes its business divisions internally to service and align to customers' industries:  Oil, Chemical & Agri (including the Caleb Brett business), Consumer Goods (including the Labtest business), Commercial & Electrical (including the ETL SEMKO business) and Government Services (including the Foreign Trade Standards business).

2006 - Present

The Intertek as One initiative is launched to provide greater service offerings and added value for our customers. At the same time it helps ensure there is cross-divisional integration and sharing of resources.

Intertek makes 7 new acquisitions for a net consideration of £36.9m. These include the Dutch laboratory operations of Polychemlab in a 5 year laboratory outsourcing deal, Alta Analytical laboratories in the US, Akzo Nobel in Japan and Iberica in Spain and Portugal.

2006

Intertek acquires the Dutch laboratory operations of Polychemlab from DSM in a 5 year laboratory outsourcing deal.

Intertek acquires pharmaceutical testing company Alta Analytical laboratories in the USA.

2007

Intertek offers consultancy services in the area of corporate social responsibility, sustainable sourcing and supply, and related supply-chain management to global organizations.

Intertek makes 16 acquisitions for a net consideration of £100.0m. These include Genalysis the minerals testing business in Australia, NSTL and Quantitative Technologies Inc (QTI) in the US and Umitek in the UK.

2008

The existing four divisions are split into seven divisions to better support the needs of our customers. The Group now consists of Analytical Services, Commercial & Electrical, Consumer Goods, Government Services, Industrial Services, Minerals and Oil, Chemical & Agri.

Mark Loughead is appointed Chief Operating Officer and joins the Intertek Board.

Intertek makes 14 acquisitions for a net consideration of £79.5m. These include Hi-Cad Technical Services providing specialist 3D data capture, Bioclin Research Laboratories, Electrical Mechanical Instrument Services, HP White, a ballistics testing laboratory in the US, 4-Front Research an analytical group providing clinical research, Applica GmbH, EKO-lab and Porst Partner.