November 16, 2025: It is with sadness that Batteries International reports the death of Ioan Repede, the former CEO of Rombat, the Romanian battery manufacturer. He led the firm for more than a quarter of a century and was instrumental in its fortunes for some 42 years.
Ioan, who died on November 5, was the head of Rombat’s lead acid manufacturing business from 1995 to 2021 and was the key figure in the negotiations that led to Rombat’s acquisition by South Africa-based Metair Investments, in 2012.
He is also remembered as the driving force in making Rombat a respected national and international brand.
Ioan, who was born in July 1954, showed exceptional promise in his high school years and made a name for himself with, according to his friends, “outstanding academic results” while at the faculty of industrial chemistry at the Politehnica University of Timișoara.
Founded in 1920 the Politehnica is still one of the largest technical universities in central and eastern Europe. Ioan later said that Timișoara held a special position in his heart for his years there and how his Christian faith developed during that time.
After graduation he moved to Bistriţa, some 400km from Timișoara, where he started working for a battery manufacturing business which became the predecessor of Acumulatorul Bistrița, which later went on to become a state-owned battery company in 1980. His rise within the firm was meteoric.
In 1985 he married and the couple’s 40 year marriage, resulted in three children and seven grandchildren.
In 1991, with the opening up of Eastern Europe to Western market influences, Rombat became a joint-stock company.
In 1996 Ioan was the key driver in the privatization of Rombat when effectively the company was sold to its employees. Rombat was then, and is now, the main manufacturer of 12V car batteries in the country.
On his retirement in February 2021, Repede was succeeded by Alin Ioaneș.
In a celebration of 45 years of business, held last May, Rombat acknowledged the role Ioan had played in turning the firm into “the national leader in car battery production” and an important exporter to European markets.
In a special awards ceremony in 2023, Alin Ioanes, said: “The 41 years he spent at the helm of the Rombat factory reflect the effort, dedication, vision and discipline with which he developed a successful business — one that has been iconic for Romania, and also has had a significant impact for the local community.”
Graeme Fraser-Bell, vice president for lithium sales at ENTEK said at the time of that ceremony: “I had the pleasure of working with Mr Repede over many years and was always impressed with his servant leadership approach and his utter professionalism.”
Rombat described him as a special man and leader with vision and passion. He was also pastor of the Holy Trinity Pentecostal Church, where he was much loved and admired, and honorary citizen of the city of Bistrița, Transylvania, where he lived.
A tribute to Repede published on November 7 by regional daily newspaper, BZI, credited him for turning Rombat into a competitive company on the European market “without departing from its Christian principles and community spirit”.
The obituary noted Repede was awarded the title of honorary citizen of Bistrița in 2014 and also of Bistrița-Năsăud county in 2018 — “in recognition of his contribution to the economic and moral development of the community”.
