German automotive and arms manufacturer Rheinmetall said on February 1 that it is taking up a majority share in Romanian vehicle maker Automecanica Mediaș. The group will hold a 72.5% stake in the local company through Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH, while the remaining shares will stay in private hands.

The company will operate in Romania under the name Rheinmetall Automecanica SRL. In the medium term, Rheinmetall puts the annual sales potential of the newly acquired company at around USD 300 million and expects incoming orders in the current financial year to be in the three-digit million-euro range.

Still, the contractual agreement requires approval by the relevant government authorities before it takes effect, the company said. 

Chief executive Armin Papperger commented: “Bringing Automecanica Mediaș into the Rheinmetall family marks another important milestone in our strategy of strengthening the Group’s presence in Central Europe, which in turn contributes to bolstering the defensive capabilities of the EU and NATO on Europe’s eastern flank.”  

Automecanica Mediaș is a Romanian producer of truck build-ons and trailers for the civilian and military market, and Rheinmetall has been cooperating with it since 2022, when the two partners joined forces to operate a maintenance and repair facility for military vehicles in Satu Mare. 

Truck build-ons, trailers and other special vehicles developed and produced by Automecanica are set to augment and complement Rheinmetall’s existing range of military trucks. At the same time, the acquisition constitutes a further expansion of Rheinmetall’s global vehicle production network, which already includes plants in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Austria, the Netherlands, and Germany.

Moreover, Rheinmetall has locations in two other countries on NATO’s eastern flank, Hungary and Lithuania. Plus, in December 2023, Romania awarded the German group a major air defence order worth EUR 328 million.

“The plant in Mediaș, Romania, is poised to play a key role in maintaining the operational readiness of Western-built combat vehicles in Ukraine, as well as assuring logistical support. Rheinmetall’s presence in Romania means that forces deployed on NATO’s eastern flank will be able to count on shorter response times and more robust supply chains,” reads the press release.

Moreover, as Automecanica has long been a partner of the Romanian Army, by adding it to its family, Rheinmetall said it seeks to be “a leading partner of the Romanian armed forces as well as those of neighbouring countries, with a significantly expanded array of products and services.”

Headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany, Rheinmetall AG is a high-tech enterprise with some 34,000 employees at 139 locations worldwide. The group had sales of EUR 6.4 billion in 2022.

Founded in 1941 as Atelierele de Stat pentru Aeronautică Mediaș, Automecanica Mediaș switched to producing vehicle build-ons and lifting platforms in 1962. It currently makes truck build-ons and trailers for the civilian and military market, as well as tankers for transporting fuel and liquid foodstuffs and for shipping general cargo. Furthermore, Automecanica’s product portfolio includes streetsweepers and construction vehicles.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Tobias Arhelger/Dreamstime.com)