SKF India Adding Cylindrical Capacity

SKF India Ltd. (a subsidiary of SKF AB, Sweden) said it plans to begin manufacturing medium-sized cylindrical roller bearings for industrial applications. In mid-2005, SKF announced a USD $30 million program to expand its strained production capacity in India. At the time, however, it did not elaborate on what additional product lines might be added to either its Pune or Bangalore facilities. The company did suggest that Pune was under consideration for a new industrial bearing product line. In fact, the cylindricals are being added to the Pune facility, which is also seeing its tapered roller bearing capacity raised by 50%. Adding industrial cylindricals to the product lines produced in India adds not only export volume but also lowers SKF's costs for the line and may allow it to be more price-competitive in export markets. The volume production shift in India represents a continuing trend across the bearing industry. Manufacturers are refocusing efforts in low-cost areas to produce not only high-volume ball bearings but also high-quality, high-value bearings such as tapered rollers, cylindricals, and sphericals. Within five years, SKF said it expects medium-size cylindricals produced in Pune will account for as much as 10% of the company's total export volume.