SKF Continues Expansion into China by Opening 2nd Bearing Factory in Dalian
SKF today officially opened its second bearing factory in Dalian, northeast China. The factory produces medium size bearings, which complement the range of large bearings produced in the existing factory, which opened in 2006. The industrial bearings from the factories will mainly serve customers within the electric motor, industrial electrical, industrial transmissions, metalworking, mining, mineral processing and cement, off-highway, pulp and paper and renewable energy industries.
"China is a very important market for the SKF Group and the opening of this new factory reinforces our commitment to our customers and distributors here and in the Asian region," says Tom Johnstone, President and CEO of SKF. "Our total investment for the two factories in Dalian will be around billion 1.5 SEK and fully supports our very positive development in the industrial market. We are bringing the latest technology to this facility and this combined with our new Global Technical Centre in China will enable us to more quickly develop new products and support the long-term technological development in the Chinese industry."
"By expanding the production of medium size SKF industrial bearings in China, we will further strengthen our position in the industrial bearing market. This factory will enable us to significantly reduce lead times and create closer interaction with our key customers," says Erik Nelander, President SKF China. "We are very pleased with the development of our first factory in Dalian, which has won numerous awards, such as Dalian Preferred Employer for two consecutive years. This is one reason we decided to build a second factory in Dalian and we are sure we will also have a very positive development with this factory."
SKF Dalian is located in the Dalian Economic and Technological Development Area and consists of a large size bearing factory and medium size bearing factory and is the largest bearing base for industrial product sales for SKF China. The two factories are expected to employ over 800 workers by the end of 2011.
SKF China consists of numerous sales and service offices, as well as 13 production units which provide customers in Asia with high quality products and services. SKF appointed a sales agent in China for the first time in 1912 and established the first sales branch in Shanghai in 1916. Today, SKF China is headquartered in Shanghai and employs close to 5 000.
