DEKRA acquires rail testing institute Plurel

The DEKRA Rail division has been bolstered by the leading testing institute for rail transport in the Benelux countries. DEKRA is acquiring all shares in Plurel B.V. – formerly DeltaRail – from
Utrecht, Netherlands, completing its Europe-wide offering of testing services for the rail sector. Plurel specialises in the testing, inspection and certification of rolling stock, infrastructure, and wheel-rail interfacing. The company is the market leader in the Benelux region and serves large railway operators, maintenance contractors, infrastructure managers, and supplying industries. Plurel is also active in France and the UK.

The specialist employs 65 highly qualified staff in all areas of rail transport technology: signalling and control, material and wear testing, Notified Body and safety assessments, mechanics and calibration. “With this transaction, we are strategically expanding our rail transport activities in Western Europe and making DEKRA a leading player in this sector,” said Ivo Rauh, member of the Management Board of DEKRA SE, responsible for the DEKRA Industrial business unit. “Plurel is an ideal addition to our portfolio of approvals and accreditations, which gives DEKRA Rail a crucial competitive advantage at European level.”

 “In recent years, we have successfully extended the company’s lead together with our employees,” said Hans de Regt, sole owner and CEO of Plurel. “Now we will expand our sphere of activity together with major market participants in an international context; becoming a member of the DEKRA family puts us in an optimum position for this.”

 Among other things, the unit DEKRA Rail is a Notified Body for the EC conformity assessment (TSI) in Europe. Via its companies in Germany and Sweden, it has numerous approvals and has so far been active predominantly in Scandinavia and Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe.

 DEKRA anticipates that its takeover of Plurel B.V. will mean further synergies in the Netherlands, including for the established product testing and certification business. Plurel is the second acquisition this year in the industrial sector in the Netherlands. In August DEKRA already took on the materials testing business of DNV-GL in Arnheim. In addition, DEKRA stepped up its damage appraisal business with acquisitions in the automotive sector. DEKRA now employs approximately 1,000 people in the Netherlands.