Preh and Macrium

Preh Romania develops and manufactures control systems and electronic modules for vehicles, specialising in components that manage everything from climate control to driver assistance systems.

Its production facility runs around-the-clock automated lines building high-precision electronic components for major car manufacturers.

Constantin, IT Manager at Preh Romania, and Stefan, System Administrator, are responsible for keeping those lines running smoothly by ensuring they can recover production machines fast if the worst happens.

The production lines depend on software that’s tailored to each car maker’s requirements. If a computer fails or a software update causes issues, the line has to stop - and downtime can cost up to €100,000 an hour.

Before switching to Macrium, the team had tried a couple of backup and recovery tools, but none of them could keep up with the demands of Preh’s production environment. They stored backups on external hard drives, and restores were entirely manual.

Stefan explained, “We had to shut down the computer, insert our external SSD solution, and boot into it to do the restore. Everything had to be done manually.”

Even then, the restores weren’t always successful. “We had problems,” Constantin said. “The files couldn’t be retrieved from the server, or we couldn’t use them at all – there were errors when we tried to restore.”

This combination of unreliable tools and manual effort was disruptive and risky. It wasn’t just a matter of inconvenience - it affected their ability to meet deadlines and maintain production. Eventually, the team realised they needed something they could actually rely on.

They started testing alternatives with a clear set of must-haves: centralised management, reliable restore functionality, and a setup that wouldn’t break the budget for a single site. Macrium SiteBackup quickly stood out for doing exactly what they needed - without unnecessary complexity.

“It performed exactly as we needed,” Constantin said. “And it was the best price option for us.”

Watch the video here to find out more about Macrium SiteBackup.

Once the team had proven it worked, they rolled Macrium out across key machines and integrated it with Active Directory. Using Macrium SiteBackup, Macrium’s centralised backup and recovery solution, they could now schedule backups, manage systems over the network, and carry out restores without needing to pause production or even be on-site.

“We don’t have to shut down the production line to do the backup,” said Stefan. “The backup can be done while it’s working.”

Constantin added that they’d even managed restores remotely in real situations, without having to leave home.

The difference was immediate. There was no more manually connecting external hard drives at the production line to perform backup and restore operations, or having to physically travel to the plant to do it. The system just did what they needed it to.

The support experience also stood out. Stefan said, “Support from Macrium so far has been really great. Anytime we have questions or run into issues, the team responded very quickly and with clear instructions and fixes to our issues. It’s been a smooth experience.”

“It simply works,” Constantin added.

Stefan noted that the changes made the whole process more efficient and reliable. The team no longer spends time checking backups or dealing with errors - they can simply focus on building high-quality automotive systems without disruption.

They achieved:

Since the switch, the team at Preh Romania has seen a clear difference. What used to be slow and unreliable is now simple and consistent - reducing downtime and giving the team peace of mind when it comes to recovery. Constantin has even recommended Macrium to other plants.

“It was the only solution I knew that actually worked,” he said. “And the cost compared to other solutions made it a no-brainer.”

Macrium gives Preh Romania the confidence to keep production running, no matter what.

Constantin, IT Manager, Preh Romania