European Bearing Corp. Acquires Samara Aircraft Bearing Plant

European Bearing Corp. (EBC, Russia) said it has acquired 80% ownership of the Aircraft Bearing Plant in Samara, the former GPZ-4 4th State Bearing Plant. Making the announcement, EBC President Artem Zuyev said the combination acquisition transaction and investments to form a new specialty bearing division will reach approximately USD $30 million. With the acquisition, EBC now controls approximately 40% of the overall Russian bearing market, and produces more than 80% of the country's non-commodity and specialty bearings. The Samara Aircraft Bearing Plant will be the cornerstone of a new EBC division, the Special Product Division. Special Product manufacturing assets will be dedicated to producing aircraft and aerospace bearings, and specialty defense, weapons and industrial bearings. The company estimates the total annual market within Russia for all types of specialty aerospace and defense bearings is $60 million. Mr. Zuyev said, "Our next step will be to establish EBC's Special Product Division to include, apart from Samara ABP, Moscow Bearing plant to be established on January 1, 2006, on the basis of the Precision Bearing Workshop of the Volga Bearing Plant." Founded in 2000, European Bearing Corp. has four other plants acquired in the same privatization move: Moscow's legendary GPZ-1 (former Bearing Plant #1), another plant in Moscow dedicated to aircraft bearings, and the former VPZ-15 bearing plant in Volzhsky, and the former SPZ-16 16th State Ball Bearing Plant in Stepnogorsk, Kazakhstan. Stepnogorsk is the largest bearing factory in Kazakhstan, and EBC's only manufacturing location outside Russia. It produces more than 2.2 million heavy-duty rail and other large cylindrical roller bearings each year. Already the largest CIS bearing company, EBC will employs almost 13,000 people after the Samara acquisition is complete.