SHANGHAI: SKF Group, the world's biggest bearing
and seal maker, is aiming to expand in China after completing a series of
international acquisitions over the past six months.
The Swedish company yesterday announced it would add three manufacturing
plants in China by the end of the year and will enter the truck market by the
end of 2007.
SKF is planning to localize all of its manufacturing products delivered to
the Chinese market by the end of 2008, said the company. So far, around half of
the SKF bearing and seal products sold in China are imports.
The announcement came as foreign investors line up to crack China's bearing
manufacturing industry through acquisitions or expansion.
As part of the strategy, SKF's new plant manufacturing large-size bearings in
Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, and another plant specializing in
electromechanical actuators and actuation systems in Pindu, East China's
Zhejiang Province, have already gone into operation, said the company yesterday.
SKF also plans a new factory in Shanghai manufacturing automotive bearing
products with 12 production channels by the end of the year.
"SKF will continue its strong investment to increase our manufacturing
capacity for products used in the automotive, medical, food and wind energy
industries in the coming few years," Tom Johnstone, president and CEO of SKF
Group, told China Daily yesterday.
SKF's China sales reached 2.8 billion yuan last year, up by 28 per cent from
2004, making China the fourth-largest market for SKF.
SKF Group, a major bearing supplier to the Chinese railway market, recently
signed an agreement worth up to SEK1 billion (US$136 million) with China's
Ministry of Railways, according to sources close to the company.
"SKF plans to enter the Chinese truck trailer market by the end of the year
2007," said Johnstone. "And the wind energy industry is also a future focus in
China."
He said further plans include expanding the SKF dealer and distributor
network and transferring more new technology and solutions to China.
Besides SKF, other world leading bearing makers including the Germany-based
Schaeffler Group and US-based Timken are also increasing their manufacturing
capability in China.
Timken Company, the world's third-largest bearing manufacturer, said last
week it would build its fifith factory in China in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, while
Shaeffler is working aggressively to acquire domestic bearing makers.
(China Daily 09/13/2006 page10)
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