TUV Rheinland focuses on China for growth

Ralf Scheller, member of the Executive Board of TUV Rheinland AG, an international testing, inspection and certification services provider, believes that the Chinese market is key to the company's growth prospects in providing technological services as a result of the country's fast development.

Founded in Cologne in 1872, the Germany-headquartered company entered China in the 1980s and has set up offices in more than 20 cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

"Over the past 30 years, we have witnessed a tremendous reform in the development of China," Scheller said.

Companies not only require developing products with high technologies, but also show a big interest in expanding markets abroad, he added.

Scheller has worked at TUV Rheinland since 1991. In 2010, the company reorganized its structures in China, aiming to optimize resources among the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In the same year, Scheller was appointed as CEO and president of the company's China region, continuing in this role until 2016.

"We have seen much more focus on the local market as our service transformed to fit the local need," he said.

In this regard, the company has expanded its business to better meet and serve customers' needs both in the local and international markets.

"Customers prefer all-in-one service rather than going to different units for different services," Scheller said, adding that it is a reason for the company expanding its portfolio in China to keep up with the demand and needs of its customers.

During its 30-year development in China, TUV Rheinland has not only helped local customers achieve success, but also developed its business further, he said.

Over the past few years, TUV Rheinland has invested 300 million yuan ($43.6 million) in China in areas such as service upgrades including investing in new technology laboratories as well as upgrading existing test facilities. In 2018, the company set up the Internet of Things Excellence Center in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, which not only caters to 5G products but all wireless technologies.

TUV Rheinland has also been investing in photovoltaic testing over the past 10 years and developing test methods for autonomous vehicles to ensure testing in a safe environment. The company plans to continuously invest in certification and testing of new and upcoming technologies such as loT, wireless, artificial intelligence, big data, cybersecurity and autonomous driving.

"We understand that our customers are looking forward to connection with the IoT, and this requires the third parties to generate trust in consumers and users of the equipment by guaranteeing that all applications are safe, data is not being compromised and privacy is protected," Scheller said.

"In Europe, we have some projects mainly providing guidance, involving planning and setup of the 5G network."

Businesses may not necessarily understand the difficulties of the new technology, but they have to use it. The company has experts with deep knowledge on the differences between 5G and 4G technologies and ensuring the interoperability of old and new networks, he said.

"For almost 150 years, our mission has been to make sure that new technologies are supporting the development of mankind without doing harm to the environment. We also share our knowledge with society by providing training to the workforce," he said.

With the promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative, the company has extended its business in such fields as industrial manufacturing, transportation and new energies.

The initiative provides great opportunities for many countries to improve their infrastructure and participate in international trade, Scheller noted.

"We are playing the partner role in working with Chinese companies in setting up big plans outside China to ensure that their infrastructure is in place based on the requirements of targeted markets," Scheller said.

"There are many projects we are working on, and I'm sure this is just a beginning."

liangkaiyan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Global 07/10/2019 page9)