German transformer manufacturer SGB-SMIT Group has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Comel Transformatori, giving the Serbian industrial company a strategic international owner at a time when utilities, renewable-energy developers and grid operators across Europe are facing increasingly long delivery periods for critical electrical equipment.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to the usual regulatory and contractual conditions. Neither the size of the equity interest nor the purchase price has been disclosed. Comel’s existing owners will retain a minority position, preserving Serbian participation in a company that has rebuilt part of the industrial base once associated with Minel Transformatori.
For SGB-SMIT, the investment adds another production and service platform to its European transformer network. For Comel, it opens access to a larger order book, international procurement channels, engineering expertise and the financial resources required to expand capacity in a market where transformer availability has become a material constraint on power-sector investment.
Comel Transformatori operates from Ripanj, near Belgrade, producing and repairing power transformers and related equipment. Its capabilities include the overhaul and repair of transformers with voltage levels of up to 420 kV, placing it in a strategically important segment that serves transmission networks, power plants, industrial facilities and renewable-energy projects.
The Serbian company’s recent growth provides an important commercial backdrop to the acquisition. Comel Transformatori generated approximately RSD 2.54 billion, or around €21.7 million, in revenue during 2025, while net profit reached about RSD 218.3 million, equivalent to roughly €1.9 million. EBITDA was approximately RSD 309.5 million, giving the business an EBITDA margin of slightly above 12 per cent. The company employed 171 people.
Those figures indicate that SGB-SMIT is acquiring more than an industrial site or legacy manufacturing brand. Comel has already developed into a profitable transformer platform with an established workforce, operational manufacturing capacity and experience across the Serbian and regional power markets. Its revenue had also risen sharply in 2024, reflecting the rapid increase in demand for transformers and associated services as utilities accelerated network investment.
The present business emerged from Comel’s investment in the former Minel transformer operations. In 2020, Comel acquired Minel Transformatori through a public sale for RSD 192.9 million, then approximately €1.6 million. The acquisition preserved production assets and part of Serbia’s transformer-manufacturing knowledge at a time when much of the country’s older electrical-equipment industry had either contracted or disappeared.
Comel itself was established in 1990 and developed a broader portfolio covering low-, medium- and high-voltage equipment, engineering, installation and maintenance. Across its operations, the group employs more than 240 people. The transformer business became its most strategically valuable industrial component as investment in transmission, distribution and renewable generation began to accelerate.
SGB-SMIT’s entry now moves that transformation into a second phase. The German group manufactures large and medium power transformers, oil-filled distribution transformers, dry-type units, compact substations and specialised electrical equipment. Its industrial network includes operations in Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, France, the Czech Republic, the United States, India, China and Malaysia.
The Serbian acquisition follows a broader expansion programme. SGB-SMIT previously acquired Romanian transformer producer Retrasib and, more recently, expanded in the United States through Southwest Electric. In July 2026, the group and Electro-Alfa International also inaugurated the SGB-ALFA transformer factory in Botoșani, Romania, following an investment of around €20 million.
The addition of Comel therefore appears to be part of a deliberate regional manufacturing strategy rather than an isolated acquisition. Romania provides SGB-SMIT with an established EU production base, while Serbia offers competitive manufacturing costs, a skilled electrical-engineering workforce and access to markets across the Western Balkans and south-eastern Europe.
Transformer manufacturing has moved from being a relatively stable industrial niche to a critical bottleneck in the energy transition. Europe’s grids must absorb new wind and solar capacity, rising industrial electrification, battery-storage projects, data centres and additional cross-border flows. At the same time, ageing transformers installed several decades ago require replacement or major refurbishment.
Large power transformers are engineered products rather than standardised commodities. Production requires specialised design capability, electrical steel, copper, insulation systems, testing facilities and experienced personnel. Delivery periods for certain high-voltage units have extended well beyond historical norms, while buyers increasingly seek European or regional suppliers capable of providing long-term maintenance and rapid technical support.
Comel’s repair and overhaul capabilities are particularly valuable in this environment. Extending the operating life of an existing transformer can be faster and less capital-intensive than procuring a new unit, especially where utilities are managing ageing fleets and limited reserve capacity. A regional service base near Belgrade could support customers in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.
Serbia itself presents a growing domestic market. Elektromreža Srbije, Elektrodistribucija Srbije and Elektroprivreda Srbije are facing substantial requirements for network reinforcement, substation modernisation and the connection of new generating assets. The country’s wind, solar and battery pipeline is creating additional demand for step-up transformers, grid substations and replacement equipment.
Projects such as the Crni Vrh wind farm, the planned expansion of renewable capacity by EPS, new solar developments and the wider pipeline of privately sponsored wind projects require increasingly complex grid infrastructure. Transformer procurement has become a direct schedule risk: a delayed unit can postpone energisation, trial operation and commercial production even after the generating equipment has been installed.
An internationally backed Comel could capture a larger share of that investment cycle. SGB-SMIT can bring standardised engineering, international certification, supply-chain leverage and access to export customers. Comel contributes local production, a competitive cost base, established facilities and personnel familiar with regional technical requirements.
The transaction also carries a broader industrial-policy significance for Serbia. Foreign direct investment in the country has frequently concentrated on labour-intensive assembly, automotive components, mining and consumer manufacturing. Transformer production sits in a more specialised category, combining electrical engineering, advanced materials, testing, precision manufacturing and long-term service contracts.
Continued investment could gradually place the Ripanj operation within SGB-SMIT’s European supply chain rather than limiting it to domestic orders. That would increase the export content of Serbian manufacturing and strengthen the country’s position in equipment required for European grid modernisation.
The financial logic is equally clear. Comel’s reported 2025 EBITDA of approximately €2.6 million provides SGB-SMIT with a profitable operating base before any integration benefits. Capacity utilisation, export orders, centralised procurement and technology transfer could lift earnings without requiring the cost and execution risk associated with developing an entirely new factory.
Future capital expenditure is likely to centre on production capacity, testing equipment, digital design, quality-control systems and workforce development. Depending on the intended product range, a meaningful expansion could require investment in the high single-digit to low double-digit millions of euros. The amount has not been announced, but the group’s recent €20 million Romanian factory investment illustrates the scale at which SGB-SMIT is expanding its regional footprint.
The ownership change could also influence procurement decisions by utilities and private developers. International lenders and insurers frequently examine manufacturing quality, references, warranties, spare-parts availability and the financial strength of equipment suppliers. SGB-SMIT’s balance sheet and global operating history can strengthen Comel’s position in tenders where supplier bankability is assessed alongside price and technical compliance.
Integration will still require careful management. Transformer production depends heavily on experienced engineers, winding specialists, technicians and testing personnel whose expertise cannot be replaced quickly. Retaining Comel’s workforce and local management knowledge will be as important as installing new equipment or introducing group-level procedures.
The transaction marks a decisive shift for the former Minel transformer operations. What began as the preservation of an industrial asset through Comel’s RSD 192.9 million acquisition in 2020 has developed into the entry of a major European strategic investor. The Ripanj factory is now positioned to become part of a wider manufacturing network serving one of the fastest-growing segments of Europe’s electrical-equipment market.
