SQS AG celebrates its 25th anniversary

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Gala event with white tigers in Cologne’s Gürzenich

Cologne, 5 April 2007

This year, SQS Software Quality Systems AG is reaching the landmark of a quarter of a century in business. The highpoint of the festivities celebrating the company’s 25 years of existence is a gala on 4 May in the Gürzenich congress centre in Cologne. The listed company, which has its headquarters in Cologne, will be welcoming 300 guests from seven countries to a varied programme including a podium discussion, film, gala dinner and dancing. The Mayor of Cologne Fritz Schramma will be among the speakers, while the appearance of circus director André Sarrasani and his white tigers will provide spine-tingling entertainment.

SQS will be looking back over 25 years of IT industry with this event, held under the motto “The First 25 Years of Quality”. Firstly the company has assembled a package presenting its remit—independent testing and software quality management—in an entertaining film. After that, managers from the circle of SQS customers will swap highlights from this period in the form of anecdotes and stories. Above all they will be discussing how corporate IT has changed in terms of software testing and quality management, and what the most important insights have been during that time. Michael Beilfuß, publishing director at IDG Business Media GmbH, will chair the discussion.
The Mayor of Cologne, Fritz Schramma, will use his address to examine the general significance of IT as well as the importance of SQS AG for Cologne as a business location.
Along with the company’s silver jubilee, SQS AG will also be celebrating the most successful trading year in its history to date. In 2006 the SQS Group generated sales of 78.9 million euros, earning profits of 5.3 million euros. Sales and profits thus each rose by about 44 per cent compared with the previous year. This was achieved with the aid of 733 employees (as at 31.12.2006) in seven European countries and South Africa.
From April there will be a special website dedicated to the anniversary, at www.sqs.de. It will provide amusing information, a quiz with a prize draw, a short version of the anniversary film available for download and other activities related to the anniversary.

SQS Software Quality Systems
SQS is the leading independent provider of software quality management and testing services in Europe. Based in Cologne, Germany, SQS currently employs more than 850 people in its branches in Europe—including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and Ireland—and South Africa. SQS also has a minor stake in an operation in Portugal and a cooperative agreement with a company in Spain.
SQS is the first German company to have a primary listing on AIM (Alternative Investment Market) in London. SQS completed a secondary listing on the Entry Standard of the Deutsche Börse (German Stock Exchange) in Frankfurt am Main on 2 December 2005.
With over 4,000 successfully completed projects behind it, SQS has a strong customer base including half of the DAX 30 companies and 30 per cent of the companies in the STOXX 50. They include names like Dresdner Bank, Barclays, Deutsche Telekom, BP, DaimlerChrysler and Airbus, and various other enterprises from all business sectors.