Ownership Structure

Nemko was established in 1933 as an independent association to promote product safety for electrical products in Norway. The Norwegian government, through NVE (Norges Vassdrags og Elektrisitetsvesen) played a leading role. Nemko was funded partly through testing and certification fees and a mandatory annual license fee applied per sold item.

Nemko had a monopoly in Norway for testing and approval of electrical products and materials manufactured or imported and sold in Norway. The mandatory scheme was abolished in 1991 following Norway’s alignment with the EU single market efforts.

In the process it was decided to transform Nemko to an independent private foundation (stiftelse) supported by the Norwegian electrotechnical industry. In comparison, the other Nordic bodies (SEMKO, DEMKO and FIMKO) were sold to international companies.

The current ownership structure of Nemko is shown on the chart below: