SOCOTEC

In post-war France, the need for reconstruction was immense. Out of this environment, SOCOTEC, originally an evolution of Bureau Sécuritas, was established in 1953 as France's first building control organization. For over half a century, the company was owned by its employees, steadily building a reputation in technical inspection and risk management for the construction industry. The first major shift in its journey occurred in 2008 when it opened its capital to outside investors to accelerate growth. This set the stage for a significant event in 2013, when the private investment firm Cobepa acquired a majority stake in a leveraged buyout, signaling a new era of international ambition. Under new ownership, SOCOTEC embarked on an aggressive expansion strategy, marked by numerous acquisitions across Europe and later, the United States. Key acquisitions, like ESG in the UK in 2017 and Vidaris in the US in 2019, transformed the company from a primarily French business into a global player in the Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC) market. This strategic growth continued with the acquisition of Ninyo & Moore in January 2025, which doubled its size in the United States and pushed the group's global revenue to over €1.6 billion.