Stabilus Romania has submitted plans to install a new electrostatic painting line at its Sânpetru factory near Brașov, a project valued at about EUR 2.5 million that will expand the plant’s shock‑absorber finishing capacity to a maximum of 7 million units per year, according to company documentation filed with local authorities.

Project and technical details

The investment covers an internal installation in the existing Module III production hall that will use electrostatic painting technology with water‑based paints. Safety data sheets cited in the documentation put the volatile organic compound (VOC) content of the paints between 1% and 6%. Design and installation works are scheduled to take five months, the filing to the Brașov County Environmental Protection Agency states.

Stabilus Romania — a unit of the German Stabilus Group founded in 1934 — was established in Sânpetru in 2005 and remains one of the region’s larger suppliers. The Romanian unit reported turnover of RON 943.1 million (around EUR 190 million) and a net profit of RON 43.2 million in its most recent annual figures; the company employed an average 1,294 people. The investment documentation and local press reports set out the financial and employment context for the project.

What this means for the market

For carmakers and Tier‑1 customers, the new line provides a local boost to finishing capacity for gas springs and dampers — components used across passenger cars, commercial vehicles and aftermarket parts — by creating an additional 7 million painted units per year on the site. The move to water‑based, low‑VOC paints aligns with broader supplier trends to reduce environmental impact in component finishing. The company says the upgrade is part of a development strategy to meet market demand.

Because the equipment will be fitted inside an existing hall and the works are scheduled to last about five months, the project is likely to be a short‑cycle capacity increase rather than a long greenfield expansion — a pattern suppliers in Romania and neighbouring CEE states have used to respond quickly to orders while keeping capital intensity moderate, according to local reporting.

Stabilus’ €2.5m line is a concrete example of continuing Tier‑1 investment into finishing and assembly capacity in Romania — a country that remains an important low‑cost manufacturing node for European carmakers and suppliers. The documentation filed with authorities and the company’s recent financials frame the project as capacity consolidation and quality improvement at Sânpetru rather than a large new employment push.

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Sources: Romania Insider, Monitorul Expres, ad‑hoc‑news