Adrian Moisa, CEO at EMI Romania

Interview with Adrian Moisa, EMI Romania CEO

The beauty of being part of EMI Group is that you retain your autonomy and way of working—you don’t lose control or face unnecessary constraints. As long as you perform, no one will pressure you.”

1. EMI Romania is the company around which the Group was created. How was the beginning of this journey?

EMI Romania was established in 2001, and I joined the company in 2003. My role focused on developing industrial access systems for the southern region of Romania. From the very beginning, we emphasized delivering high-quality services, which allowed us to introduce additional solutions tailored to our clients’ needs. During the years, I had the opportunity to participate in major projects, including the sarcophagus at Chernobyl, various projects in the airport industry, and specialized gates with dimensions ranging from 13 to 40 meters. This approach helped us forge lasting relationships with our clients—once we stepped onto their premises, we rarely left.

Over the years, we built strong bonds with our clients. Even as people moved to different companies, they continued to seek us out because of the trust we had earned. Known in the market for providing 24/7 multi-brand maintenance services for industrial equipment, we have come to manage a fleet of over 20,000 pieces of equipment nationwide and beyond.

Looking back after all these years in the industry, I clearly see that EMI Romania’s greatest strengths are our dedicated team, our factory, and our commitment to constant innovation. We’ve always focused on developing solutions in response to market demands. For example, this approach led us from initially importing metal rolling shutters to producing our own brand of metal rolling shutters in our manufacturing facility, now covering approximately 80% of the market. If we have a weakness, it’s perhaps our difficulty in saying “no” to requests. We are determined to find solutions, even for the most challenging needs, all while prioritizing safety and usability.

What truly sets us apart is our unwavering commitment to delivering on our promises and meeting deadlines. I sometimes joke that I’d wear a fairy-tale dress and wave a magic wand if that’s what it took to solve a challenge quickly. But in reality, our success stems from the exceptional trust and collaboration within the EMI Romania team.

This dedication has earned us the confidence of our clients. They often entrust us with additional projects, knowing we’ll manage them on time and to the highest standards. This trust is a principle I hold dear, inspired by my grandfather, a blacksmith, who taught me the importance of honoring agreements. He believed that when you shake hands with someone, you keep your word, even if it means taking a loss. I am proud to carry forward that legacy in my work.

I’ve been part of the EMI team for over 20 years, drawn to the challenges and ready to take on responsibilities without hesitation. I’m proud to have risen to the role of CEO EMI Romania, succeeding the founder, in a growing group with fantastic prospects for the future.

I’ve been part of the EMI ‘s journey since the beginning, proudly taking over the CEO Romania’s role form its founder, Jerome France. I had 20 years of great experiences in a constantly growing group that has fantastic prospects for the future.

Access Systems, EMI Group member

2. What are the main advantages of being part of the Group?

In its new shareholder’ structure, beside two powerful Private Equity funds, Morphosis Capital and Innova Capital, EMI Group has an interesting M&A strategy of regional strategy, perfectly aligned with the original entrepreneurial spirit of the founder.

If I would reduce the list to three, I would mention the following.

The first one references a great feeling of surety, as being part of EMI Group means being surrounded by a diverse team of professionals, each bringing unique strengths and perspectives to the table. This diversity is one of our greatest assets—it creates an environment where we not only collaborate but also continuously learn from one another. The ability to tap into the expertise and experience of colleagues from different companies within the Group opens doors to innovative solutions and best practices that we might not have discovered independently.

The second one is the collaboration within the Group extends beyond simply sharing knowledge. It provides access to a broader network of resources, technologies, and ideas, enabling us to tackle challenges more effectively and seize opportunities with confidence. Whether it’s through joint projects, shared supplier relationships, or brainstorming sessions, this synergy enhances our overall performance and drives collective success.

Top three is completed by an increased reputation, a being part of a successfully growing regional Group strengthens our credibility in the market. It demonstrates that we are not just an isolated company, but a contributor to a larger ecosystem of businesses with shared values and goals. This association brings added confidence to our clients and partners, who know they are working with a solid, well-connected, and reliable organization.

Cannot end this enumeration without highlighting once more that the Group is a community of spirit, where autonomy and individuality are respected while collaboration and support thrive. It’s this balance that makes it such a powerful and rewarding structure to be part of.

3. Were there any concerns about the Group’s growth through the integration of new companies?

It is never easy to get through an M&A process, even more as an employee, although we fully trusted the founder and get more confidence when we get to know the future owners, great professionals and character.  

Initially, there were concerns about how integration might impact our identity and the way we operate. However, it quickly became clear that this would not be a typical merger. We were assured that we would retain our independence and unique identity while benefiting from the best practices shared across the Group. This approach was unlike anything else in the market, when owners fast-forward mutualizes as much as possible. And this set the foundation for a successful collaboration that was noticed within the organization.

Now, the decentralized structure of the Group plays a key role in maintaining our team’s motivation and preserving the operational style that has driven our success. There was no forced assimilation or destabilization—quite the opposite. The integration was designed to enhance, not disrupt, what made us strong in the first place.

When we first discussed forming the Group, the main question was: What is our purpose? The vision was crystal clear: to foster growth by leveraging the Group’s synergies while preserving the entrepreneurial spirit and agility of each company, that earned us the trust and loyalty of our customers. This vision was fully supported by our investors and partner companies, creating a shared roadmap for sustainable success.

EMI Group investors

4. Can you share examples of recent projects that benefited from collaboration within the Group?

Gladly, as we have all kinds of valuable cross-collaboration not only among our teams within the group, but also with our clients, whenever possible, leaving the competition in one market at the company’s door.

For instance, I frequently exchange market insights with Octavian Fanea, KADRA’s CEO, the other Romanian entity of EMI Group that joined us in December 2023. This helps us to be constantly updated, identify both the opportunities and risks for mutual growth. Recently, we hosted in our factory in Cateasca, Arges County, a “how it’s made” discovery visit for one of the biggest retailers in Romania, jointly welcoming all his questions. This professional gathering allowed our clients to see firsthand the real flexibility, the added value we bring both separately but also together, to their projects, strengthening their trust in our capabilities.

Another example regards the industrial or logistics projects that represents another Group member’s specialization, when the requirements fall outside our area of expertise, such as for automatic doors or smoke vents. As we are covering in the group 360 degree all industrial doors solutions, we never hesitate to refer them to KADRA, instead of growing a new business arm, that it is less useful for the Gorup.
Our focus remains on the client, for whom we provide comprehensive solutions that address their needs while showcasing the collective expertise of our companies, by sharing these connections within the Group.

This collaborative approach applies also cross borders, with our colleagues in Access System and Decran’s Belgium sister companies, leveraging as well other in-house production facility and dedicated design team of Slovakia’s factory in Slovakia.
At the end of the day, we all keep our valuable competitive advantage by offering customized solutions and efficient production support for our clients, while adding significant value across the Group.
I find a lot of wisdom in this natural collaboration that will further allow us to integrate more colleagues to come, during the shareholders’ strategy roll-out for growth.

5. How has the team responded to the integration of other companies?

With a long-lasting strong culture of trust, EMI Romania’s team has embraced the integration with a strong sense of pride, in being part of a larger Group united by a shared purpose. The leadership message is clear: together, we are building a powerful, cohesive team to strengthen our position in the Romanian market and further develop in the European market.

A practical and equally important topic during the integration process, referred to the clarity and transparency of the commercial well-negotiated agreements, assuring mutual benefits.
This surely contributed to fostering higher effective collaboration. At the end of the integration, the outcome was a streamlined sharing of suppliers and resources, which has enhanced efficiency and amplified our collective energy.
Proudly to mention also that, through our expertise and solutions developed at EMI Romania, we’ve supported our colleagues in Belgium in securing industrial projects in the logistics sector. Conversely, we benefit from their insights into market trends in maintenance, drawing on their experience with a significantly larger industrial equipment fleet compared to Eastern Europe. This mutual exchange has enriched our capabilities and strengthened our collective impact.
The highlight of the integration refers to a final shared purpose and more united teams although independently run, a successful team exercise.

6. How do you perceive market trends, and where do you see growth opportunities?

The market is highly volatile, which makes us cautious, a situation that will last for the near future. We will continue to look for new projects, while remaining focused on maintaining strong relationships with existing clients, offering them additional services. For new projects, we’re targeting logistics and military sectors. This year, we’ve already secured projects in these areas, with more planned for next year.
Intra-group collaborations include KADRA’s medical and automatic doors installation in projects EMI Romania initiated, such as instrument transfer doors installation at Sfântu Gheorghe Hospital, or the 24 automatic doors for a shopping center in Pitești.
Regardless of the macroeconomic or geopolitical turmoiled context, we remain loyal to our DNA for innovation and tailored made solutions for our clients. Just to give an example, we recently worked on a mock-up solution for radioprotection doors for nuclear powerplant, that will weight aprox. 10.4tons.

Decran, EMI Group member, specialized steel doors

7. What message would you share with entrepreneurs considering joining the Group?

This is a Group of extraordinary professionals with a shared purpose. The beauty of being part of EMI Group is that you retain your autonomy and way of working—you don’t lose control or face unnecessary constraints.
As long as you perform, no one will pressure you. It’s a supportive environment where you can thrive while contributing to a larger vision.