TIC Industry: Complete Guide to Testing, Inspection & Certification Market

Learn how much your business could be worth

Valuations of TIC Companies

Key Takeaways

The TIC industry encompasses testing, inspection, and certification services that ensure regulatory compliance across virtually every sector of the global economy. With projected average growth at a 4.7% CAGR through 2030, the certification market represents one of the most stable and essential service sectors worldwide.

Table of contents

1. What is the TIC industry
2. Market size and growth projections
3. TIC industry subsectors breakdown
4. Major market players and consolidation
5. Valuation and financial metrics
6. Service type segmentation
7. About Aventis Advisors

What is the TIC industry

The TIC industry represents three interconnected but distinct activities forming the foundation of global quality assurance and risk management. According to ISO/IEC 17000 standards:

• Testing involves determining the characteristics of products, materials, or systems using specified procedures and methodologies.
• Inspection focuses on examining products, processes, or installations to verify conformity with predetermined requirements, safety regulations, and quality standards.
• Certification represents third-party attestation that products, systems, or organizations conform to specific requirements.

The development of testing and certification services dates back to the early 20th century, with rapid evolution after World War II. The GATT framework established in 1947 introduced standardized approaches to international trade, making conformity assessment essential for cross-border commerce.

Today’s TIC services enable international trade by providing recognized proof of compliance, facilitating market entry, and minimizing risks associated with non-compliance. This mission-critical function ensures operational continuity across global supply chains while supporting the complex regulatory requirements governing modern commerce.

Market size and growth projections

The global Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) market is estimated to be worth more than €200 bn, based on Bureau Veritas’ methodology, which calculates TIC intensity across various industries by multiplying end-user spending by the depth of testing and certification requirements.

However, only 40% of this market is currently accessible to private-sector providers. The remaining 60% is either government-operated or insourced within large organizations. This means the true outsourced market size is closer to €80 bn, creating a clear long-term opportunity for operators who can win contracts from public bodies or offer compelling outsourcing propositions to industrial clients.

Growth projections vary depending on the forecasting source, with expected compound annual growth rates (CAGR) ranging from 3.4% (MarketsandMarkets) to 6.3% (VynZ Research) through 2030. This spread reflects differing assumptions about regulatory tightening, infrastructure investment, and the pace of private-sector outsourcing.

Despite being a mature industry in many regions, TIC continues to grow steadily due to its essential role in enabling trade, supporting compliance, and protecting end users across critical sectors—from electric vehicles and pharmaceuticals to construction and consumer goods. The combination of regulatory complexity, global supply chains, and rising demand for third-party validation ensures that TIC remains a resilient and increasingly valuable service category.

TIC industry subsectors breakdown

The TIC market spans various industries, each with its own regulatory complexity, testing protocols, and growth trajectory. The chart below segments the €200+ bn global market by subsector size, providing a clear view of where TIC services are most embedded—and where strategic opportunities exist.

Top-tier subsectors include Consumer Goods & Retail and Food & Agriculture, each contributing €23 bn or 12% of total market value. Oil & Gas, Construction, and Chemicals follow closely behind at around €19-20 bn (10% each), highlighting the importance of traditional infrastructure-heavy sectors.

Meanwhile, the mid-market tier—Metals & Minerals, Industrial Goods, Transport, Automotive, and Power & Utilities—collectively represents over 35% of the market and is characterized by increasing digitalization, supply chain globalization, and rising demand for third-party certification.

Below are selected subsectors that illustrate how TIC services are evolving across key verticals:

Consumer Goods & Retail (€23 bn, 12%)

This is the largest single TIC segment by market value, driven by the sheer diversity of consumer products and rising regulatory pressure on product safety, labeling, and sustainability.

• Growth is underpinned by global e-commerce, as online platforms introduce their own quality thresholds for marketplace listings.
• Retailers increasingly require certified supply chain documentation to mitigate risk and meet both legal and consumer transparency standards.
• TIC demand is expanding beyond traditional product testing to include claims verification (e.g. organic, cruelty-free, carbon neutral) and real-time factory audits, often in response to ESG reporting mandates.

Food & Agriculture (€23 bn, 12%)

Food safety, traceability, and ethical sourcing are turning this into a fast-evolving TIC frontier.

• The segment is growing, fueled by increasingly complex supply chains and greater public awareness around health, allergens, and contaminants.
• Technologies like DNA-based pathogen detection and blockchain tracking are being integrated into modern food safety systems.
• Certification for organic, sustainable, and fair-trade practices is becoming a commercial necessity, especially in export-driven economies and for retailers targeting premium consumers.

Oil & Gas (€20 bn, 10%)

Despite long-term decarbonization trends, Oil & Gas remains a critical and regulation-heavy vertical for TIC services.

• Core services include pipeline integrity inspection, refinery safety audits, materials testing, and emissions monitoring.
• The shift toward lower-carbon fuels and carbon capture is introducing new compliance areas and verification frameworks, often requiring specialized providers.
• In high-risk environments, certification of safety systems, corrosion control, and emergency response protocols remains mandatory, supporting stable long-term demand.

Construction (€19 bn, 10%)

Construction TIC is powered by both infrastructure expansion in emerging markets and retrofits and safety upgrades in developed economies.

With public infrastructure spending accelerating globally, and ESG-linked building certifications gaining traction, construction TIC is expected to remain a major and evolving revenue stream.

Services include materials testing, structural integrity inspections, fire safety certification, and seismic compliance checks.

Digitalization is opening new frontiers, such as drone-enabled site inspection, 3D modeling validation, and predictive maintenance audits.

Major market players and consolidation

The TIC industry remains fragmented despite the presence of several large multinational players. The chart below highlights the top 10 global TIC providers by revenue and headcount, offering a snapshot of current scale and strategic positioning.

Global Leaders by Scale and Acquisition Activity

• SGS (Switzerland) remains the undisputed global leader with $7.72 bn in revenue and nearly 100,000 employees. With 97 acquisitions since 2014, it has built unmatched breadth across industries and geographies.
• Eurofins Scientific (Luxembourg), with $7.52 bn in revenue and 63,000 staff, is the most aggressive consolidator, having completed 378 acquisitions since 2015, primarily in life sciences, food safety, and environmental testing.
• Bureau Veritas (France), with 84,000 employees and $6.98 bn in revenue, has also built a strong global platform, focused on compliance, construction, and marine sectors, supported by 61 acquisitions between 2014 and 2024.

Notable Regional and Specialist Players

• Intertek (UK) and DEKRA (Germany) both generate over $4 bn in revenue with headcounts of around 45,000. Intertek’s strength lies in consumer product testing, while DEKRA focuses on automotive, industrial inspection, and safety.
• UL Solutions (US) and DNV (Norway) specialize in electrical safety, ESG, and energy infrastructure certification. While smaller in revenue (~$3 bn), they play an outsized role in key technical segments.
• Applus+ (Spain) and TÜV SÜD / TÜV Rheinland (Germany) operate regionally but hold global relevance in automotive, heavy industry, and process safety. Applus+, in particular, has drawn PE interest as a platform acquisition.

M&A Activity and Consolidation Trends

The fragmented nature of the TIC industry continues to fuel high levels of strategic and financial M&A:

• Strategic acquirers focus on expanding into high-growth verticals (e.g., EVs, renewables, ESG compliance) or securing niche technical capabilities that unlock new sectors or geographies.
• Private equity firms have widely adopted buy-and-build strategies, attracted by predictable cash flows, high renewal rates, and recession-resistant demand. Platform acquisitions are often followed by bolt-ons that deepen specialization or broaden service scope.
• The increasing complexity of global regulatory frameworks has elevated the value of providers with integrated, multi-jurisdictional capabilities—especially those that can offer bundled testing, inspection, and certification services at scale.
• As a result, valuations are highest for firms combining double-digit revenue growth with specialized capabilities, strong client retention, and exposure to regulated or mission-critical sectors.

Strategic Implication

For industry entrants or consolidators, the competitive landscape offers two clear paths:

• Specialize in a high-growth niche (e.g., EV battery validation, AI model safety audits, ESG certification).
• Or build horizontal scale through acquisitions, focusing on operational efficiency, global reach, and cross-selling potential.

Either way, depth of expertise, digital readiness, and international coverage will define the next wave of TIC leaders.