STUTTGART, Germany and SHANGHAI, China, March 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- On 31 March 2011, the international expert organisation DEKRA opened its new Asian headquarters in Shanghai. The testing company will bring together its product testing, certification, automotive and industrial activities in the new DEKRA House in Shibai Hi-Tech Park. For DEKRA, China's rapid growth presents great potential for expert services.

"China occupies a key position in DEKRA's global expansion strategy", said Stefan Kölbl, Chairman of the Management Board of DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE, during the inauguration ceremony. "We are pursuing a strategy of establishing ourselves as the leading expert organisation in all global regions." The new DEKRA House is the hub of all activities for the whole of Asia. Here, DEKRA bundles the activities of the Industrial and Automotive business units to offer customers even simpler solutions from a single source and leverage synergies.

Product testing and certification is a crucial growth area for DEKRA in China. In the new building, DEKRA has set up one of the most up-to-date electronics testing laboratories in China. Here, experts use high-tech procedures to test innovative products such as LEDs. Mark Thomä, member of the DEKRA SE Management Board and head of the Industrial business unit, explains: "We are collaborating closely with the export industry and want to make a significant contribution to the safety and quality of products around the world". DEKRA currently has five testing laboratories in China.

A "DEKRA Green Economy Summit" marking the inauguration of the headquarters concentrated on topics surrounding environmentally compatible and sustainable growth. "We want to actively support the Chinese economy and help it to achieve its environmental and climate targets", says Dr Michael Siedentop, Head of Greater China at DEKRA. In particular, DEKRA aims to offer innovative expert services for preventing air and water pollution, construction and real estate as well as intelligent and sustainable transport concepts such as e-mobility.

DEKRA's new headquarters in Shanghai occupy 5,000 square metres across five storeys; of this, 2,000 square metres are used for office space and 3,000 square metres for laboratories. 110 members of staff are currently employed here by the DEKRA companies Testing and Certification China as well as DEKRA (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. The laboratories are fully equipped for testing electrical safety as well as for conducting environmental and climate-related tests. The core range of products tested includes electrical and mechanical household appliances, consumer goods, batteries, lights and lamps, electric tools as well as electrical components such as cables, switches, plugs, power outlets and machines.

DEKRA e.V.

Press & Information Tilman Vögele-Ebering +49(07-11)78-61-21-22 +49(07-11)78-61-27-00 tilman.voegele-ebering@dekra.com

http://www.dekra.com