History

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  • 120 years of work with safety

    Södra Sveriges Ångpanneförening was founded on February 23, 1895 for the inspection of steam boilers and was the first of its kind. The idea was to prevent accidents through regular inspections. Thirty years later, Deutcher Kraftfahrzeugs-überwachungs verein (abbreviated as DEKRA) was founded in Berlin, Germany. The idea here was also to prevent accidents, but accidents involving trucks driving off the road with subsequent damage to expensive cargo, not exploding steam boilers.

    In 1975, a new law was enacted in Sweden for national inspection bodies, and in 1977 the government founded the Swedish Plant Inspectorate. This resulted in Ångpanneförening losing its fundamental field of operations and the company instead concentrated its efforts on continuing under different conditions. But 20 years ago in 1995, the inspection monopoly was abolished and ÅF-Kontroll was founded.

    DEKRA acquired ÅF-Kontroll in March 2010 and this was a giant step in its expansion into the industrial sector.
    “Being a part of the DEKRA Group is a very good fit for us,” says Christian Sivertsen, CEO for the company since 2016. “We have the same values and take the long-term approach. We even have the same orientation – challenging monopolies. With no reservations, I can say that we've played a key role in moving the sector forward.”

  • History in brief

    Today - One of the world's leading companies in safety

    2010 - DEKRA acquires ÅF-Kontroll AB

    1998 - International expansion begins

    1995 - ÅF-Kontroll founded after the inspection monopoly was abolished in Sweden 

    1970 - Annual motor vehicle inspections started

    1925 - DEKRA Deutcher Kraftfahrzeugs-überwachungs verein founded

    1895 - Södra Sveriges Ångpanneförening founded