Two factories were opened in India by SKF in April, and a wind industry service center was opened in Shanghai. The facilities support growing demand in Asia.

One of the factories was built in the Indian city Haridwar, which will serve the two wheeler manufacturers in the Uttarakhand state, an emerging industrial hub, and contribute to the growing vehicle aftermarket in India. The total investment amounts to about $35 million (USD), and the factory will employ around 200 people.

The other Indian factory was opened in Ahmedabad, the largest city in the Gujarat state. Medium to large size bearings of various types will be manufactured at this site for serving customers in railway, wind and other heavy industry sectors. SKF invested about $63 million into this facility, which will employ around 300 people at full capacity.         

"SKF has been present in India for more than 85 years, and it is a very important market for us, both in terms of business and for the development of products," says Tom Johnstone, president and CEO. "The opening of these new factories, which means that we now have five factories in India, shows our strong commitment to supporting our growth in India and Asia."

SKF, in its commitment to reducing the carbon dioxide emissions from its factories, built the Haridwar factory according to the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) green factory recommendations, and the Ahmedabad factory was built according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard.

The SKF Asia Pacific wind industry service center was built at the SKF Solution Factory in Shanghai. It is the third SKF facility of its kind, tailored to the wind industry, joining centers in Hamburg, Germany and Houston.

This center was established to meet market demand for maintenance technology in the wind industry and to provide one-stop solutions in the market of wind farm operation and maintenance in Asia Pacific, particularly in China. According to Vartan Vartanian, president SKF Service Division, "The establishment of the wind industry service center in Shanghai demonstrates SKF's strong commitment to provide extensive technical support and services to the wind industry and the wind farm operation and maintenance market in Asia Pacific."