SOURCE / COMPANIES
Focusing on its strategy and TIC business, DEKRA’s CEO remains enthusiastic about Chinese market and improvement
Global partner for a safe, secure, and sustainable world
Published: May 23, 2023 03:52 PM
Stan Zurkiewicz, Chairman of the Management Board DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE (CEO) Photo: Courtesy of DEKRA

Stan Zurkiewicz, Chairman of the Management Board DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE (CEO) Photo: Courtesy of DEKRA

DEKRA, one of world's five largest testing, inspection and certification (TIC) companies and the global No.1 provider in automotive TIC, officially opened its DEKRA Greater Bay Area AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) Testing Centre in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province on May 16. The center aims to offer comprehensive testing and certification services for AIoT-related industries, and provide guarantees for connectivity and data transmission security of high-tech products.

DEKRA's representatives, including Stan Zurkiewicz, Chairman of the Management Board DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE (CEO), and Kilian Aviles, SVP of DEKRA APAC and managing director of China, in addition to nearly 100 of DEKRA's customers and partners attended the opening ceremony.
 
"The state-of-the-art facility, which we are opening today, represents our commitment to pushing boundaries of technology and fostering ecosystem that thrives on innovations," Zurkiewicz said. "Our goal is to create a world-class testing center which supports Chinese and international manufacturers with most comprehensive range of services, unrivalled technical expertise, and unparalleled customer service."
 
DEKRA's strategy
 
Founded in 1925 in Berlin, DEKRA has been active in the field of safety for almost 100 years. The company currently employs almost 49,000 people in approximately 60 countries and regions across five continents, providing services ranging from vehicle inspection and expert appraisals to claims services, industrial and building inspections, advisory and training services, testing and certification of products and systems, also in the digital world, as well as temporary work.
 
According to a DEKRA press release, despite inflation, the pandemic, and the Ukraine crisis representing key challenges for the company in 2022, DEKRA still managed to realize remarkable global growth of 7.4 percent.
 
Zurkiewicz said that the main factors that helped DEKRA achieve this milestone were delivering on sustainability and a strong focus on the future of mobility. "DEKRA is one of the very active players in supporting organizations in the transformations toward green and sustainable enterprises."
 
Regarding DEKRA's target as businesses grapple with digital transformation, he said that "if you look at our Strategy 2025, digitalization has a very prominent role in it." Based on studies, "it's clear that significant proportion of the market for TIC services in the next decade will be transformed," he said.
 
"Therefore, our first priority is the predominant transformation of our existing portfolio toward digitally enabled services and development of a new digital business model in preparation for the new markets which also will emerge as a consequence of digitalization," the CEO said. "Our corporate focus areas are future vehicle and mobility services, information and cyber security services, sustainability services, AI and advanced analytics, and remote services."
 
Zurkiewicz said that China today is already in the leading position in some of key technologies, such as in the solar, wind and hydrogen industries. "In decarbonizing our energy supply, China is by far the dominant player," he said.
 
"We value the Chinese market very much. This is the market where we believe we can add value with our knowledge, expertise, and services. We can help support the transformation that the Chinese economy and the industrial ecosystem is undergoing at the moment."
 
Automotive TIC & Cyber security

The automotive industry has experienced substantial transformations in recent years, including technological advancements, and shifting consumer behavior. As a prominent player in automotive TIC, DEKRA has introduced its Strategy 2025, aiming to remain its unrivaled global leadership in automotive testing.
 
"Our ambition is that after the transformation has taken place, we will emerge as the undisputed leader in the field, and we are very confident that we will be able to support the industry because this transformation has to happen in a safe way. So in order to support sustainability and mobility, we feel that we have an important role to play in the process," Zurkiewicz said.
 
DEKRA have already taken a number of automobile services to market, including cyber security, functional safety, electrical safety, reliability and failure analysis, and electromagnetic compatibility, especially in the field of electric vehicles (EVs).
 
As for EVs in China, Zurkiewicz said although the EV-related business is still a relatively small proportion of DEKRA's total business, the adoption of EVs has accelerated rapidly in the country.

"The Chinese market is one of the most important EV markets in the world," he said. "China aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. If we imagine the magnitude of change in a way industrial structures to be required to achieve that objective, it will be enormous. We feel that we are very well placed to support the industry in making that transformation."
 
"I'm positive and enthusiastic about the prospects of Chinese autonomous and connectivity technologies. I think that China is very well based to compete in these markets internationally. We see that Chinese car manufacturers are beginning to go global and successfully enter the international markets."
 
In recent years, China has stepped up efforts to promote the development of the digital economy. Zurkiewicz believes that cyber security would again take center stage when it comes to the major concerns of business executives entering a post-pandemic era.
 
"The market for cyber security is already very large and will continue to grow. DEKRA was one of the leading technical service providers in Europe to obtain accreditation to offer automotive cyber security, and we have globally distributed teams which are jointly working on cyber security projects," he said.
 
"Our vision is about safety, security and sustainability. So cyber security is one of those three pillars of existential importance for DEKRA's future," he added.
 
'A real pleasure to be back home'

 
After spending almost 20 years working and living in China, the CEO said it was emotional for him to come back here this time.
 
"I've been positively surprised with the pace of change and how dynamic the Chinese market has been despite all the unfavorable economic and global political environment these years," Zurkiewicz said.
 
"It's a real pleasure to be back home here in China," he added.