Our History

1878

Our company is founded in Rouen, France, by Henri Goldstuck who, having seen the opportunities at one of the country’s largest ports, begins to inspect French grain shipments.

 

1879

Business takes off and we open new offices in France’s three largest ports: Le Havre, Dunkirk and Marseille.

 

1915

Our headquarters moves from Paris to Geneva, Switzerland.

 

1919

In 1919 we adopt the name Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS).

 

1955

We diversify and begin our Industrial Services business inspecting industrial machines and goods.

 

1962

Expanding further, we establish services for the oil, gas & chemical sector, minerals industries, and governments and institutions.

 

1970

In the 70s we begin providing environmental consultancy and remediation services to customers in the oil and gas sector.

 

1981

SGS goes public. Less than four years later, our sales reach an impressive CHF 1.5 billion.

 

1991

Booming economies in Asia fuel our growth and we expand our business to China.

 

Today

Today, we operate across a wide variety of industry sectors with more than 98,000 employees across 2,650 offices and laboratories, and are active in nearly every country in the world.