What Sterela does

Sterela is a French industrial engineering and services company founded in 1980 that designs and manufactures multi-technology electronic and mechatronic systems with associated software for data acquisition, processing, and transmission. Headquartered in Pins-Justaret with a production and logistics facility in Auterive, the company operates as a SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) with €131,952 in capital and is the founding entity of the ERMIC Group, which also includes Survision, Noval, Bluematrix, and Movicity. Its offering spans four Strategic Business Units organized as autonomous profit centers: Intelligent Transportation Systems (WIM dynamic weighing systems, traffic counting, and the WEBTRAFIC web platform); Defense (static and mobile target systems for live-fire training across all calibers); Météo (the NEPTUNE automatic weather observation station selected by Météo France and Eumetnet); and Aerospace Testing (qualification, RF, wiring, and Final Assembly Line tooling).

The company's revenue mix combines one-time hardware sales (electronic and mechatronic systems), one-time software licensing (WEBTRAFIC and other data management tools), recurring maintenance contracts under the MCO framework (levels 1-5 of preventive and corrective support), and professional services for installation, calibration, engineering studies, and configuration management. Sterela sells almost exclusively into French public-sector and institutional buyers — including Météo France, Eumetnet, and the French Armed Forces — through dedicated direct enterprise sales teams organized by business unit, supplemented by mobile technical crews capable of cross-territory intervention. Pricing is project-quoted and contract-negotiated rather than published.

Sterela maintains ISO 9001 certification continuously since 1999 (currently ISO 9001-2015), an ADEME producer registration for end-of-life electronic equipment, BPI France Excellence network membership, and a 2023 UIMM Occitanie RSE certification. With 104 employees as of January 1, 2025 and R&D investment above 12% of revenue, the company positions itself as a French market leader in dynamic weighing, military targets, and weather observation systems while explicitly targeting intermediate-size enterprise (ETI) scale through the broader ERMIC Group structure.

Name

Sterela

Legal name

STERELA

Website

https://sterela.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Sterela is a French industrial engineering company founded in 1980 that designs and manufactures electronic and mechatronic systems with associated software for transportation, defense, meteorological, and aerospace markets, selling primarily to public-sector and institutional buyers through dedicated direct enterprise sales teams.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Electronic and Mechatronic Systems

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

Toll Plaza / Lane Equipment & Field Systems (Gantry, Sensors, Cameras, AVC) (TLAJABAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) / Video Tolling & Enforcement (TLAJABAB)

Keywords

• Weigh-in-motion systems
• Automatic weather stations
• Military target systems
• Aerospace testing equipment
• Intelligent transportation systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Portet-sur-garonne

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Electronic and Mechatronic Systems: Sale of integrated multi-technology electronic and mechatronic systems including sensors, data acquisition hardware, and transmission equipment for ITS, weather, defense, and aerospace applications
2. Software Products: Software solutions for data management including acquisition, processing, transmission, storage and exploitation. Includes web-based platforms such as WEBTRAFIC for traffic management
3. Maintenance and Operational Support Services (MCO): Full spectrum maintenance services from level 1 to level 5, including preventive and corrective maintenance, operational maintenance, repair services in workshop or on-site, and hotline/hot-mail support
4. Technical Assistance and Consulting: Technical support including engineering studies, experimentation, testing, installation, calibration, remote maintenance, configuration management, and administrative support services

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sterela designs, manufactures, and services electronic and mechatronic systems along with associated software for the acquisition, processing, and transmission of data. The company operates across four business units: Intelligent Transportation Systems (weigh-in-motion, traffic classification, WEBTRAFIC software), Defense (target systems, equipment for armed forces), Meteorology (automatic weather stations, road weather stations), and Aerospace Testing (control and measurement systems). The offering combines proprietary hardware with embedded software and is delivered with on-site installation, calibration, and maintenance services.

Product overview

STERELA is an industrial engineering and services company that develops integrated multi-technology systems for four main sectors: ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems), Defense, Weather/Meteorology, and Aerospace Testing. The product portfolio includes hardware systems (electronic and mechatronic) and software solutions (data acquisition, processing, and transmission) across these domains. Key products include WIM dynamic weighing systems managed via WEBTRAFIC web platform, NEPTUNE weather stations, target systems for military training, and aerospace testing equipment. The company also provides comprehensive lifecycle services including installation, maintenance, and technical support from level 1 to level 5.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ITS (Sterela-ITS): ITS solutions for dynamic weighing and vehicle counting
• DEFENSE (Sterela-Defense)
• MÉTÉO (Sterela-Meteo)
• TESTING SYSTEMS (Sterela-Aero)

Products and services

• Weigh-in-motion (WIM) sensors and systems

Quantifiable outcome

• NEPTUNE weather station selected by Météo France and Eumetnet for European network
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• UIMM OccitanieminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with UIMM (Union des Industries et Métiers de la Métallurgie) Occitanie for RSE certification and ongoing support in corporate social responsibility initiatives.
• ERMIC GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTERELA is the founding company of ERMIC Group which also includes Survision, Noval, Bluematrix, and Movicity. ERMIC specializes in electronic and mechatronic systems for smart-city, automation, and traffic management. STERELA serves as the structural foundation for the group's activities.
• EcosystemminorOthersEco-organization for end-of-life electronic and electrical equipment recycling. Membership allows STERELA customers to benefit from free treatment of equipment purchased from STERELA.
• ADEMEminorOthersUnique identifier FR006755_05PU2Q attributed by ADEME for registration in the producer registry for Electrical and Electronic Equipment, in compliance with Article L.541-10-13 of the Environmental Code.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Vaisala: Finnish global leader in weather, environmental, and industrial measurement instruments. Direct peer to Sterela's Météo business unit, with similar customer base in national meteorological services and similar product positioning in automatic weather stations.
• Q-Free: Norwegian intelligent transportation systems company with products in tolling, traffic monitoring, and enforcement. Comparable to Sterela's ITS offerings, particularly in the European public-sector ITS market.
• Kapsch TrafficCom: Austrian-headquartered specialist in intelligent transportation systems including tolling, enforcement, and Weigh-in-Motion solutions. Direct competitor to Sterela's ITS business unit in the WIM and traffic monitoring space.
• International Road Dynamics: Canadian supplier of Weigh-in-Motion and traffic management systems for highways and commercial vehicle enforcement. Closest direct peer to Sterela's WIM and overweight-vehicle-enforcement product line.
• Iteris: US-based intelligent transportation systems provider focused on traffic monitoring, detection, and roadway analytics. Direct competitor to Sterela's ITS solutions for traffic counting, vehicle classification, and road infrastructure data.
• Campbell Scientific: US-based manufacturer of data acquisition systems, weather stations, and environmental monitoring instrumentation. Directly comparable to Sterela's Météo business in automatic weather observation and rugged field data acquisition.

Broad incumbents

• Rohde & Schwarz: German test and measurement equipment major serving aerospace, defense, and communications. Comparable to Sterela's Aerospace Testing business unit in RF, system qualification, and aerospace test tools, but at vastly larger scale.
• Cubic Corporation: US defense and transportation technology company with both live training systems (targets, range instrumentation) and intelligent transportation solutions. Broad incumbent peer with overlap in both Sterela's Defense and ITS units.
• RUAG Defence: Swiss defense and aerospace company providing training systems, target equipment, and range instrumentation to armed forces. Comparable to Sterela-Defense in shooting training targets but with broader systems-integration scope.
• Saab (Training & Simulation): Swedish defense prime with a significant training and simulation business supplying military target systems and range equipment. Overlaps with Sterela's Defense target systems business but operates at much larger scale across weapons, sensors, and full simulation environments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sterelasa
• Facebookfacebook.com/254460914589684
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sterela-groupe

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sterela