SKF Completes RC DEI Norge Acquisition

SKF AB (Sweden) has completed acquiring the 50% of RC DEI a.s. it did not already own. SKF had owned 50% of the joint venture Norwegian industrial maintenance company through its DEI (UK) subsidiary. The other 50% was held by the investment company AGR Group. SKF acquired all of AGR Group's holdings for an undisclosed amount. The RC DEI venture home office is in Norway, while DEI's home office is in Aberdeen, Scotland. RC DEI a.s. was formed as a joint venture of RC Consultancy Ltd. and Development Engineering International (DEI). DEI was acquired by SKF in 1999 and is part of SKF Reliability Systems. RC DEI is primarily in the North Seal oil and gas support market, where it provides condition-based maintenance services and maintenance optimization plans. The company's main clients include North Sea offshore oil and gas producers, power generation facilities, and the water and paper/pulp industries. 2005 sales were approximately £960,000 (USD $1.8 million). Phil Knights, SKF Service Division President, said: "This acquisition is a further step in strengthening SKF¡¯s position in the oil and gas industry. This field service organization along with its former parent company DEI and the rest of SKF Reliability Systems resources can provide the full array of reliability services to the North Sea oil industry. This field service operation will also support our role in the collaboration with Statoil. The oil and gas industry is also a key market for SKF portable monitoring equipment. Today, SKF is a global leader in developing and supplying intrinsically safe instrumentation for the oil and gas industry." As announced, the division will become SKF Asset Management Services.