Kiwa NV

A group of Dutch drinking water companies founded Kiwa NV in 1948 as KIWA, an acronym for Keuringsinstituut voor Waterleiding Artikelen (Institution for the Examination of Waterworks Items), with the initial aim of monitoring the quality of drinking water throughout the Netherlands. As new regulations demanded that articles used in water processing and management, such as water pipes, fittings and valves, had to adhere to certain standards, Kiwa took on the responsibility of testing the compliance of these articles to set standards. Products meeting the requirements are still marked with the Kiwa label today.

Kiwa’s stringent testing methodologies contributed to the company expanding its activity to the construction and environmental sectors. To align with its broader operational scope, the company’s name was changed from KIWA to Kiwa N.V. While the company continued to experience rapid growth in the Netherlands, Kiwa initiated an international expansion program in 1998. During the first five-year period, branches were established in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and China.

On top of this organic expansion, strategic acquisitions became an important driver in Kiwa’s growth. Since 2000, Kiwa has acquired many companies, including Gastec (the Netherlands, the UK and China), Inspecta (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland and the Baltic states) and Vinçotte (Belgium and Luxembourg). Since 2021, Kiwa has been a member of SHV, one of the world’s largest private trading groups.

In 2021, it was acquired by SHV Holdings.

Operations

Kiwa operates across a wide range of markets, including sustainability, fire safety and security, medical devices, construction and infrastructure, automotive, food, feed and farm, (renewable) energy (such as solar, wind and hydrogen) and management systems. At the core of its operations lies the testing, inspecting and certification of products, services and systems. Complementary to these services, Kiwa provides training, technological consultancy, data processing and benchmarking, digital solutions and calibration services.

To maintain its position as an independent partner, Kiwa strictly separates its certification services from other activities, like training courses and technological consultancy. The organization is evaluated by multiple accreditation bodies, audited by external organizations, and qualified by governmental bodies. Kiwa is also recognized as an Approval Body, Accepted Laboratory and Accredited Training Institution.

Certificate issuance is one of the company’s key activities, and Kiwa provides a trademarked label for visual identification once certification is granted. Kiwa provides both in-house and licensed certification labels, including in domains such as management systems (e.g., ISO 9001), cybersecurity (e.g., ISO 27001), food safety (e.g., FSSC 22000) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) (e.g., ISO 14001).

Airline flight crew licence As one of the few countries in the world the Netherlands has privatised the issuance of flight crew licences for personnel in the civil aviation industry. As a result the pilot, stewardess and technician licences are issues on behalf of the government by KIWA.