GBK

What GBK does

GBK GmbH Global Regulatory Compliance is a privately held German limited liability company (GmbH) founded in 1986 and headquartered in Ingelheim am Rhein, with a wholly-owned subsidiary, GBK China Co. Ltd, serving the Asia-Pacific region. The firm specializes in environmental, health, and safety (EHS) advisory for the transport, handling, and processing of dangerous goods and hazardous substances, supporting clients across chemical, pharmaceutical, automotive, flavors & fragrances, laboratory, and biomedical industries. Its core product stack comprises GBK Competence (an internet-based audit and risk-analysis system for safety data sheets, dangerous-goods labels, and supply-chain conformity verification), EMTEL® (a registered trademark 24/7/365 multilingual emergency telephone service covering 200 languages and modules for transport, SDS, labeling, detergents, lithium batteries, and China-specific requirements), and GBK Trusted Partner/TP1 (an officially authorized electronic transport document service for Germany). Supplementary service lines include external dangerous-goods officer engagements covering road, rail, inland waterway, sea, and air transport modes, safety data sheet creation in 42 languages, REACH and global substance/product registration services, and external occupational-safety, fire-protection, and waste-officer services.

The firm operates a hybrid go-to-market model combining sales-led direct consulting engagement with a content-driven funnel. Marketing is anchored by a free ad-free industry newsletter published 11 times per year, free introductory 30-minute webinars, and paid seminars (€145-€550 per participant) covering chemicals legislation, dangerous-goods transport, occupational safety, and waste law. International reach is delivered through GBK's own China subsidiary, US representation, and a cooperation network of qualified consulting partners in major industrial nations, including a long-standing partnership with Infotrac for emergency response services and organization of the Sino-Euro Dangerous Products Summit Forum in Shanghai. Revenue is generated primarily through professional services engagements (project fees and retainers for EHS consulting, dangerous-goods advisory, and substance registration), supplemented by a recurring subscription layer from EMTEL emergency-number modules and unit-priced seminars and reference publications.

GBK serves a diversified customer base of 1,000+ clients worldwide spanning EHS managers, dangerous-goods officers, safety-data-sheet authors, logistics managers, small and medium enterprises, large multinational corporations, and government authorities. The company is ISO 9001 certified (valid until December 2027) and led by Managing Director Thomas Jost, with the China subsidiary managed by Chenfeng Shen.

Name

GBK

Legal name

GBK GmbH Global Regulatory Compliance

Website

https://gbk-ingelheim.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

GBK GmbH Global Regulatory Compliance is a privately held German consultancy founded in 1986, advising 1,000+ clients worldwide on EHS compliance for dangerous goods and hazardous substances, including REACH, GHS, safety data sheets, EMTEL 24/7 multilingual emergency response, and electronic transport documents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ingelheim

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. EHS Consulting Services: International EHS consulting services including REACH, GHS, product registrations, and safety data sheet creation. Revenue generated through project-based consulting engagements and retainer arrangements with clients.
2. Dangerous Goods Safety Advisory: External dangerous goods officer services for all transport modes (road, rail, inland waterway, sea, air). Ongoing compliance support and regular inspections.
3. Seminars and Training: Fee-based seminars and online training courses on chemicals legislation, dangerous goods transport, occupational safety, and waste law. Pricing varies from free to €550 per course.
4. EMTEL Emergency Number Service: 24/7 multilingual emergency telephone service for dangerous goods incidents. Modules include Transport, SDS, Label, Detergents, Lithium Batteries, and China. Subscription-based service for compliance with international regulations.
5. Substance/Product Registration: Product registrations in chemical inventories across Europe, USA, and Asia (Japan, China, Korea, Philippines, Australia). One-time project fees for regulatory compliance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

GBK provides professional consulting and advisory services for the transport and processing of dangerous goods and hazardous substances. Its portfolio covers international EHS consulting (REACH, GHS, CLP, product registrations), external dangerous goods officer services across all transport modes, safety data sheet creation in 42 languages, substance registration in EU/US/Asian chemical inventories, and a 24/7 multilingual emergency hotline (EMTEL) available in 200 languages. The firm also delivers paid seminars, online training, and operates the GBK Competence internet-based audit and risk analysis system.

Product overview

GBK GmbH Global Regulatory Compliance is a consulting company offering a portfolio of specialized services for dangerous goods and hazardous chemicals compliance. The core offering centers on GBK Competence (internet-based EHS audit system), EMTEL® Emergency Number (24/7 multilingual hotline), and GBK Trusted Partner/TP1 (electronic transport documents). These are complemented by consulting services including International EHS Consulting, Dangerous Goods Services, Safety Data Sheet creation, and Substance Registration (REACH services). Training is delivered through GBK Seminars & Online Training. The company also provides supplementary officer services (occupational safety, fire protection, waste management) and operates a subsidiary GBK China for Asia-Pacific compliance. The portfolio operates as interconnected consulting and compliance services rather than a unified software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EMTEL: 24-hour emergency telephone number service for dangerous goods transport and hazardous chemicals incidents, available in 200 languages 24/7/365.
• GBK Competence
• GBK Trusted Partner

Products and services

• GBK Competence (EHS Audit & Risk Analysis) Internet-based audit and assessment system for EHS auditing and risk analysis, providing practical tools for verifying organizational structures, safety data sheets (SDS), dangerous goods labels, and dangerous goods transport processing. Includes portfolio management, gap analysis, evaluation, measurement, and optional quality seal distribution. Used by enterprises needing supply chain conformity verification.
• EMTEL Emergency Telephone Number

Quantifiable outcome

• Support for over 1,000 clients worldwide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• GBK China Co. LtdcoreOthersWholly-owned subsidiary of GBK GmbH based in China, specializing in import and export compliance for dangerous goods and hazardous chemicals in the Asia-Pacific region. Covers China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, and other regions. Managed by Chenfeng Shen (Chengfeng Shen).
• EMTEL PortalcoreTechnology or IntegrationEMTEL is GBK's proprietary emergency telephone service portal providing 24/7 multilingual support for dangerous goods incidents. Accessible at gbk-emtel.com with modules for various compliance requirements.
• TP1 Portal (GBK Trusted Partner)coreTechnology or IntegrationGBK Trusted Partner is the officially authorized TP1 for Germany, providing electronic transport document services. Access at app.tp1.de and gbk-trustedpartner.de.
• InfotracmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership of over 30 years with Infotrac for emergency response services. Referenced as 'gelebte Partnerschaft' (lived partnership) on company blog.
• Various Cooperation PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany maintains strategic cooperations with qualified consulting firms and competent experts in major industrial nations. Logo section shows multiple partner logos representing a comprehensive consultant network.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• TÜV Rheinland: German-headquartered TIC giant offering testing, inspection, and certification including hazardous-substance and product-safety services. Comparable regulatory expertise but a much broader portfolio and global brand recognition.
• SGS: World's largest TIC company with extensive chemical, hazardous-substance, and product-safety testing and certification services. Competes with GBK for global compliance engagements but at vastly greater scale and geographic reach.
• TÜV SÜD: German-based TIC firm with chemical and hazardous-materials testing/certification services. Directly comparable to GBK's regulatory and certification-adjacent work but operating at much greater scale and brand weight.
• Bureau Veritas: Global testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) major with a Commodity/Chemicals line of business covering dangerous goods and hazardous substances compliance. Significantly larger scale than GBK and competes for the same multinational enterprise clients.
• DEKRA: German-headquartered TIC organisation covering product safety, dangerous goods, and chemical compliance. Overlaps with GBK on hazardous-substance services and competes for German enterprise EHS outsourcing budgets.

Direct peers

• Chemtrec: Operated by the American Chemistry Council, Chemtrec provides 24/7 emergency response hotlines for hazardous materials incidents — directly competing with GBK's EMTEL service in the same multilingual emergency-call market.
• Infotrac (Verisk 3E): Provider of 24/7 emergency response and chemical regulatory compliance services. Notably a 30+ year partner of GBK (described as a 'lived partnership'), yet also operates adjacent competitive offerings in the same SDS and emergency-response categories.
• Sphera: EHS and operational-risk software and services firm providing chemical management, SDS authoring, and regulatory compliance solutions. Highly comparable to GBK Competence and SDS offerings but delivered primarily through a software-led model.
• Ramboll: Engineering, design, and consultancy firm with a dedicated Environment & Health practice covering chemical regulatory compliance, REACH, and product safety across Europe and globally. Comparable service offering and similar enterprise/government client mix.
• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): Global pure-play EHS and sustainability consultancy offering regulatory compliance, chemical management, and product-safety services to multinational clients. Most directly comparable to GBK in terms of service scope and enterprise client base, though at substantially greater scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gmbhgbk
• Facebookfacebook.com/GBKGmbH

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GBK