APPLUS+ IS AWARDED EXCLUSIVE 10 YEAR CONTRACT FOR VEHICLE INSPECTIONS IN IRELAND; The Spanish multinational now carries out vehicle inspections in 10 countries, among them Spain, Finland, United States and Denmark.

Barcelona - Applus+, the global provider of testing, inspection, certification and technological services, has been awarded the contract for technical vehicle inspections in Ireland between 2010 and 2020 by the Irish Road Safety Agency. The contract will involve around 800,000 vehicle inspections a year.

With new contract allows Applus+ to consolidate its position as the second largest operator worldwide in the vehicle inspection market. Applus+ manages car testing programmes in 10 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas: Andorra, Argentina, Chile, China, Denmark, Ecuador, Spain, USA, Finland and, now, Ireland. To date, the vehicle inspection division delivers annual turnover of over €190 million and employs over 2,200 people to carry out these services.

“Our innovative technological approach played a key role in the awarding of this contract,” explained Joaquim Coello, CEO, Applus+. “We are delighted to have been awarded the contract after a very competitive tender process involving the main international companies in the vehicle inspection,” concluded the CEO.

THE IRISH CONTRACT
Technical vehicle inspections were introduced in Ireland in the year 2000. With 1,800,000 vehicles on the road, the national car testing service carries out around 800,000 tests a year. Vehicles need to pass their first inspection after four years and then every two years.

The Applus+ contract will start in January 2010, when the company will assume responsibility for the national inspection centre network. Testing will be carried out at 45 centres around Ireland, which employ over 600 people. Two new centres are planned for the Dublin area. The contract is exclusive and will run for 10 years.

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Applus+, a global company in the compliance testing field.
Applus+ (www.applus.com) is a leading company in testing, inspection, certification and technological services. It is also one the 10 largest companies in the certification sector worldwide and the largest Spanish multinational in the field. It is a world leader in the areas of vehicle inspection and non-destructive tests and is among the largest three European companies in the inspection, technical support and laboratory sectors.

It provides global certification and technological services, including: certification, inspection, calibration, testing, authorisation, technical support, training, technological transfer, management, optimisation, engineering and R+D+i. The company, whose CEO is Joaquim Coello, employs over 10,000 people and had a turnover of € 675 million in 2007. In November 2007, Applus+ was acquired by The Carlyle Group, the global private equity firm.

Applus+ operates in more than 25 industrial sectors (agrifood, automobile, construction, transport, energy, environment and telecommunications, among others) and five continents. The company has offices in Barcelona, Madrid and A Coruña. It has subsidiaries in Chicago (USA) and Shanghai (China) as the base for its American and Asian business. The headquarters of Applus+ RTD, the non-destructive testing division, are in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

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