Bucharest, autumn 1995. 73 Romanian companies participated in a national exhibition. At the event, a pre-selection also took place, following which three Romanian companies were selected to participate in a contest trial together with other companies from Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. One of the Romanian companies was SC Uzina Mecanică Cugir SA (UMC – Cugir Mechanical Factory).

In 1996, after the contest trial in which the Cugir Mechanical Factory also participated, Mercedes-Benz AG granted UMC a contract for the delivery of gears and axles for front axle gearboxes (FAG). It is the year when the production reached 1,500 pieces/working day, in 5 variants.

In 2000, the delivery contracts were extended, so that a decision was made to set up a joint venture on the site located in Cugir under the leadership of Mercedes-Benz AG.

As a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz AG, the manufacturer of gearboxes in Hedelfingen/Stuttgart, and the Cugir Mechanical Factory/The Ministry of Industry of Romania, in 2001, STAR TRANSMISSION CUGIR was founded, where the know-how of both partners regarding the manufacture of gears/processing of metals was combined with the corresponding local advantages of the Cugir location.

At Star Transmission Cugir, the objective was the long-term production of full power units (including INSTALLATION). The construction of a new production hall and the increase in the number of employees up to a maximum number of 500 have been planned since then.