IMQ: at the centre of quality, where history meets innovation

If we now enjoy safer lives in our homes, on our streets, in business and when travelling, we owe some of that to IMQ, which has focused its everyday work, for almost 70 years, on anticipating the future to safeguard the present. It has worked for quality and sustainability, by carrying out tests, audits and inspections to ensure that products are safe, services are of high quality and businesses meet certain standards of excellence. It has worked to help its customers - whether in business, manufacturing or services - to harness the value of their quality. And it has worked to ensure the safety of all of us, by certifying the reliability of the products around us..

IMQ: certification services, testing, inspections and audits

IMQ is one of Europe’s top players in the field of conformity assessment.
Backed by almost 70 years of operation, we are the ideal partner for companies, organisations and professionals who want to dial up their value by certifying the safety, quality and performance of their work and their products.
We offer certification services, testing, inspections and audits to support all the major sectors of the manufacturing and service industries.

Our experience comes from working closely with manufacturers, businesses, organisations and service providers operating in a wide range of sectors. All this translates into a major benefit for our customers because it gives them an authoritative partner, with extensive experience, that is a technical consultant to ministries and public authorities on matters of auditing to ensure properly regulated markets, that has top-quality staff and is a member of the main working groups on international standards.

History

IMQ S.p.A. was formed in 1999 at the behest of the Istituto Italiano del Marchio di Qualità, an independent, non-profit association founded in 1951 by a group of major Italian scientific and technical bodies operating in the electrical sector. These were the post-war years, and in the rush to rebuild there was a risk that safety would become a secondary concern. So there was a need for a body that would regulate the market, by ensuring that products offered for sale met clearly defined quality requirements.
Over the years, the Istituto Italiano del Marchio di Qualità gradually extended its field of operation and acquired control of other companies, culminating in the decision, in 1999, to form IMQ S.p.A. to take over all operational activities, leaving the original institute free to focus on the promotion and dissemination of a culture of safety, quality and sustainability.

IMQ S.p.A. today

IMQ S.p.A. now belongs to its holding company, IMQ Group. On the international stage, IMQ has companies operating in China (IMQ Certification Shanghai), Poland (IMQ Polska), Spain (IMQ Iberica and IMQ Tecnocrea), Turkey (IMQ Turkey), United Kingdom (IMQ Certification UK) and the United Arab Emirates (IMQ Gulf).

IMQ Group organisation chart

IMQ Group represents a group of companies with an important goal: the dissemination of safety and quality.

They pursue this goal by means of product certification, testing for conformity with EU Directives, certification of management systems, audits of buildings and installations, laboratory testing, technical/regulatory support, training and export support.
IMQ Group S.r.l. is the lead company in the IMQ Group, which is structured as shown in the adjacent diagram.

Management system certification is the endorsement enjoyed by organisations that have chosen to equip themselves with efficient management systems and suitable skills and structures, aimed at continuous improvement. And the higher the prestige of the awarding body, the higher the value of the guarantee. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, our laboratories have full capability to put products through all the checks required by the major European directives and international standards. The certifications issued by IMQ are synonymous with trust. They guarantee safety, performance, efficiency and quality standards. More than 10,000 companies have turned to IMQ to certify their products and stand out on the market. Notified body for the main EU directives, IMQ offers tests and CE certifications to assess the conformity of the products to the requirements required to be marketed on the European market. Inspections and audits validate the conformity of electrical installations, equipment, supplies and services with the applicable technical and legislative specifications. IMQ services add value and enhance brand image by distinguishing organisations that have invested properly in safety and quality. They are internationally recognised, managed by expert personnel and constantly updated, on the strength of IMQ’s membership of the main working groups on international standards. From the market’s point of view, IMQ services testify to the transparency and reliability of the organisations that choose them. And they cut time to market.