SKF Closes Bearing Plant in Thomery, France

SKF France SA (a wholly-owned subsidiary of SKF AB, Sweden) closed its small ball bearing and thin section bearing plant in Thomery, France. Part of SKF Electrical Division, the Thomery facility employed over 200 people and recorded annual sales totaling USD $27 million. Production has been transferred to other SKF facilities, primarily in France. SKF acquired the Thomery plant in 1977 as part of its acquisition of Applications Du Rulement (ADR). At the time, Thomery had only 77 employees. The plant closing will cost approximately $17.6 million. SKF France President Jean Tournoux said, "This restructuring is necessary to improve the productivity and thus the competitiveness of the product range of small ball bearings and thin section bearings presently made at the Thomery Plant." In mid-2003, SKF's Electrical Division identified enhanced profitability as a key near-term operating target, with plant consolidation the preferred direction. The division recorded an operating margin for 2003 of only 3.3%, down from 6.2% in 2002. Electrical Division is a high-profile operation because the profitability has a leveraged impact on the rest of SKF; more than 70% of the bearings produced by Electrical Division are sold by other SKF divisions.