Romanian engineering company Simtel to open factory for industrial cleaning robots

The Romanian engineering and technology company Simtel (BVB: SMTL) announced on Tuesday, October 14, that one of its companies will open a f...

The Romanian engineering and technology company Simtel (BVB: SMTL) announced on Tuesday, October 14, that one of its companies will open a factory in Băicoi, Prahova, to produce industrial cleaning robots.

Simtel has a 51% stake in Agora Robotics, the company that will operate the factory set to open in November.

“We already have a list of partners waiting for us with the industrialized solution to enter markets such as Germany, for example, but not only. Our product is ready to scale. Next month, we will open the first robot factory in Romania. We will move from prototype to industrial production,” said Bogdan Lebu, Marketing Director at Agora Robotics, cited by Economedia. 

“The year 2026 will be a year of growth. We will grow based on four important directions: serial production, expansion within the country, creating sales and service teams to cover the entire country, as well as international expansion with partners waiting for us to enter markets such as Germany, Austria, Sweden, and Luxembourg. Last but not least, we are also targeting a Series A funding round to help us achieve these goals and conquer Europe and beyond,” added Lebu.

To make room for that growth, the facility in Băicoi will be expanded from its initial 10,000 square meters of logistics space with another 5,000, according to Iulian Nedea, Chairman of the Board of Directors and one of the three main shareholders of Simtel.

“We are now working on setting up the production area. It’s not a large factory, but it can take us from lab production to production dedicated to commercialization. In the first quarter of next year, we estimate the start of large-scale commercialization,” he said.

According to company officials, the cleaning robots were consolidated in terms of hardware and software in 2025, transitioning to serial production by reducing production costs. The company tested the robot for two to three months in malls, retail stores, warehouses, and underground parking lots. 

Agora Robotics also stated that it presented the solution at seven local and international fairs (Hanover, Berlin GITEX, Automatica Munich, INTEK Brașov), where it received validation of both the need and the commercial potential.

Regarding financing, co-founder Iulian Nedea added that a separate stock listing from Simtel would be an option, as would finding a strategic investor. Most likely, Simtel will dilute its stake.

At the same time, Nedea stated that Agora Robotics could quickly reach break-even, as operational costs are low. 

Simtel is also launching a subsidiary and a representative office in Stockholm, Sweden, established at the end of September 2025.

“It is called Simtel Nordics, headquartered in Stockholm. It will serve all the Nordic countries, primarily focusing on storage projects, maintenance, and storage project services. We are now in the process of creating the team, and the next step is to become operational,” said Ana Nedea, Director of Strategy & Business Development at Simtel.

Mihai Tudor, CEO of Simtel, said that in the coming years, the company will carefully pursue the diversification and expansion of business lines. He mentioned that the traditional lines are EPC, solar, and batteries, but there are other adjacent areas where they will develop EPC services, both for the energy sector and for other technological areas.

Simtel is valued at RON 472 million, after a 51% increase since the beginning of this year. The largest shareholders are Iulian Nedea (21.4%), Sergiu Bazarciuc (21.1%), Radu Vilău (21.1%), and Paval Holding (7.3%).

The group ended the first six months of 2025 with operating revenues of RON 192.8 million, up 81% compared to the first half of 2024. The net profit decreased by 70% year-on-year, to RON 2.4 million, as most deliveries and collections are scheduled for the second half of the year.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: the company)