Apave Group accelerates its development in the rail sector with the acquisition of DEKRA Rail by its specialised subsidiary CERTIFER

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Based in the Netherlands, DEKRA Rail is primarily dedicated to the rail sector and boasts recognised expertise in the activities of Notified Body (NoBo), Designated Body (DeBo) and Assessment Body (AsBo). In addition to these regulatory services, DEKRA Rail operates specialist laboratories and provides tribology, calibration and materials testing services. Leveraging the expertise of its 70 employees, DEKRA Rail supports operators, manufacturers, maintenance providers and railway infrastructure managers in optimising their assets. Thanks to in-depth expertise in these activities and test results accumulated over several decades, its experts are able to predict the remaining service life of components and optimise maintenance strategies.

In Taiwan, the rail teams have developed recognised expertise in Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) for major rail and metro projects.

This acquisition is fully in line with AMPLIFY 2030, the new five-year strategic plan launched by Apave Group in early 2026. This plan reaffirms Apave’s ambition to accelerate development in high-tech markets, identifying the transport and sustainable mobility sector as a priority growth area. By consolidating its expertise in this field, the Group is equipping itself to meet the challenges of interoperability, digitalisation and decarbonisation, in order to provide long-term support to global mobility stakeholders.

The integration of DEKRA Rail’s cutting-edge testing capabilities, notably its laboratories, materials and tribology services, and field testing, enables the Apave Group, through its specialist subsidiary CERTIFER, to expand its service portfolio and strengthen its position across the entire railway Testing, Inspection & Certification (TIC) value chain, from design to maintenance.

For CERTIFER, this acquisition represents a major step in its development strategy in the field of testing and enables it to extend its expertise to all railway subsystems (infrastructure, control-command and signalling, rolling stock), particularly in the Benelux and DACH regions (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). It is in the Netherlands that CERTIFER will thus have one of its largest operational hubs, with over 100 employees spread across two sites in Noord-Scharwoude (Alkmaar) and Utrecht.

“This transaction marks a major milestone for CERTIFER, perfectly in line with our ambition to become a global leader in TIC services for the rail sector. The integration of DEKRA Rail significantly strengthens our technical expertise in testing, inspection and certification. With our recognised expertise in rail transport, we are consolidating our position as a trusted and independent partner for railway operators, manufacturers and infrastructure managers, in Europe and beyond,” said Nicolas Castres Saint Martin, Chairman of CERTIFER. 

“Joining CERTIFER represents a tremendous opportunity for DEKRA Rail. Becoming part of this leader in the mobility sector allows us to accelerate our development whilst continuing to offer the high level of technical excellence, independence and safety that our customers expect. This is excellent news, both for our employees and for our customers,” adds Jean-Paul van Hengstum, Managing Director of DEKRA Rail.