Intertek history

Milton Hersey establishes a chemical testing laboratory in Montreal, Quebec, pioneering the idea of independent testing laboratories (1888). Mr.

In 1896, Thomas Edison created the Lamp Testing Bureau of the Edison Electrical Illuminating Company to address electric lamp safety issues and the need to establish performance standards for light bulbs.

Chas Warnock forms the Chas Warnock Company in Montreal, Canada to inspect steel products (1927).

Milton Hersey and Chas Warnock merge their companies to create 'Warnock Hersey', one of the largest testing and inspection entities in Canada (1954). The company expands into minerals, lumber testing and the US market.

Inchcape acquires the Caleb Brett group of companies, and the government trade and inspection services businesses in the UK ('Foreign Trade Standards') and the US (Intertek Testing Services and Intertek Services International) (1984-87).

It forms a specific testing business stream, 'Inchcape Testing Services' (1987), including Labtest and its other acquisitions in the testing, inspection and certification area.

Labtest acquires the product safety consulting business RAM (Risk Analysis & Management™). RAM supports clients such as McDonalds and their toy safety programme (1988).

Inchcape's Testing Services division is bought as part of a management buy-out by Charterhouse Development Capital, a global investment company (1996).

Intertek continues to expand by acquiring complementary companies in the testing, inspection and certification arena, with the wider focus on providing quality and safety services across a wide range of industries (2000 to present).

Intertek lists on the London Stock Exchange on 29 May 2002, becoming Intertek Group plc.

Our global coordination centre is housed at the former office of Lintec Testing Services Ltd, itself acquired by Intertek in 2005, based at Darlington in the UK.

Intertek's annual revenue exceeds £GBP 1 billion in 2008, reporting total revenue of £1,003.5k for the full year.

Intertek enters the FTSE 100 for the first time in 2009.

In February 2011, Intertek expanded its brand identity to Intertek: Valued Quality, Delivered, underlining the company’s global mission of partnering with its customers to provide quality services that add value to their organizations.

May 2015: Wolfhart Hauser, CEO retires from Intertek after 10 years of service and is succeeded by André Lacroix.

In 2016, Intertek acquired the Italian food quality assurance business FIT-Italia, the Canadian cyber security assurance business EWA-Canada, and entered a joint venture with the environmental quality assurance business ABC Analitic in Mexico.

2017: Intertek acquires leading provider of automotive engineering and testing services, KJ Tech in Germany and Acumen Security, a leading provider of Security Certification Solutions for products in the US.