SKF India was incorporated in the year 1961 as a result of collaboration between AB SKF, Associated Bearing Company limited and Investment Corporation of India Ltd and the first manufacturing plant was commissioned in Pune in the year 1965.
SKF started its operations in India in 1923 and provides industry leading automotive and industrial engineered solutions through its five technology-centric platforms: bearings and units, seals, mechatronics, lubrication solutions and services. Over the years the company has evolved from being a pioneer ball bearing manufacturing company to a knowledge-driven engineering company helping customers achieve sustainable and competitive business excellence.
SKF's solutions provide sustainable ways for companies across the automotive and industrial sectors to achieve breakthroughs in friction reduction, energy efficiency, and equipment longevity and reliability. With a strong commitment to research-based innovation, SKF India offers customized value added solutions that integrate all its five technology platforms.
SKF has a pan India footprint consisting of manufacturing facilities, offices, a supplier network of distributors and an employee base of dedicated professionals. In India, SKF has consolidated its operations in three different companies - SKF India Limited, SKF Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd and Lincoln Helios India Ltd.
The company has evolved from being a pioneer ball bearing manufacturing company to a knowledge-driven integrated solutions provider, helping customers achieve sustainable and competitive advantage.
1907: Aktiebolaget Svenska Kullagerfabriken founded on February 16, 1907. Sven Wingquist, inventor of the double-row self-aligning ball bearing, was one of the founding members and the first Managing Director. Axel Carlander was Chairman of the Board. The share capital amounted to 110 000 kronor. A patent application was filed on 6 June. Patents were eventually granted in ten countries. The first factory was built at Save Strandgata, Gothenburg.
1908: Branch offices opened in Germany and France. Agents appointed in Finland, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Austria and Australia.
1909: Subsidiary formed in New York - SKF Ball Bearing Co. A small workshop opened in Paris. Agents appointed in Italy, Argentina and Japan.
1910: Skefko Ball Bearing Co. Ltd in the UK registered. Work started on a plant in Luton. Agents appointed in Norway, Portugal and The Netherlands.
1911: The factory in Luton opened, producing approximately 180 bearings per day. Branch offices in France and Germany became limited companies. Agents appointed in Russia, Spain and Poland.
1912: Laboratory built in Gothenburg. Agents appointed in Bulgaria, Rumania and Mexico and, through the English company, in India, China and South Africa.
1913: Company formed in Denmark. Agent appointed in Serbia. SKF had 3 200 employees and manufactured 1.3 million bearings.
1914: Subsidiaries formed in Norway, Belgium, Holland and Russia. Aktiebolaget S.A. des Roulements à Billes Suedois SKF formed in Gothenburg to manage business in Brazil. The British SKF company set up a sales company in South Africa.
1915: Manufacture begun of a single row bearing with filling slot, the 'Volvo bearing'. A new company formed in Hartford, US and a factory built. Branch office opened in Rio de Janeiro and agent appointed in Uruguay. Sales company founded in Norway.
1916: The SKF share introduced on the Stockholm stock exchange. Hofors Bruk, one of Sweden's oldest mining and ore smelting installations, was acquired. In USA, The Hess-Bright Manufacturing Co., Philadelphia was acquired. Subsidiaries formed in Austria and China. Acquisition of Gronkvists Mekaniska Verkstad in Katrineholm, Sweden. New company formed to manage sales in South America. Its first branch offices were opened in Argentina and Chile.
1917: A new ball bearing factory built in Bois-Colombes, France. Sales companies formed in Canada and Uruguay, the one in Canada as a subsidiary of the USA company. Agents appointed in Hungary and Siam.
1918: The Atlas Ball Co. in Philadelphia acquired to secure the supply of steel balls in the USA. Sales office opened in Peru. The factory in Moscow was nationalized.
1919: Bjorn Prytz replaced Sven Wingquist as Managing Director. Subsidiaries formed in Italy and Czechoslovakia. Office opened on Java. Bearing production decreased by 23% as post-war industry was not yet back to normal. The manufacturing and sales organizations in the USA combined under the name of SKF Industries, Inc. Arvid Palmgren designed the spherical roller bearing.
1920: Subsidiary formed in Mexico and branch offices opened in Australia and Algeria.
1921: Agent appointed in New Zealand. Sales company formed in Zurich, Switzerland.
1922: End of recession. Subsidiaries formed in Poland and Yugoslavia. Agents appointed for Latvia, Egypt, Ecuador, Paraguay, Guatemala and El Salvador. Product range extended to include tapered roller bearings. Office opened in Vienna to organize and supervise sales in Eastern Europe. The Japanese agent acquired and became an SKF subsidiary.
1923: Production increased gradually. Subsidiary formed in Cuba, with sales to Colombia and Venezuela also covered from there. Skefko, Luton, opened branch office in British India, also to cover sales to Burma. Agents appointed in Estonia and Lithuania.
1924: Economic recovery continued with a new production record of nearly 6.5 million bearings. Subsidiary formed in Greece. Supervision of sales in Eastern Europe and the Balkans transferred to an office in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
1925: Subsidiaries opened in Spain, Bulgaria, Rumania and Egypt. Agents appointed in Colombia and Venezuela. Nordiska Kullager AB in Gothenburg acquired.
1926: AB Volvo, a subsidiary of SKF, produced a trial series of 10 cars.
1927: Subsidiaries formed in Portugal, Bolivia and Venezuela. Agent appointed in the Philippines.
1928: Share capital increased to 106 million kronor and the SKF share traded on the London stock exchange. Majority shareholding acquired in the French company Compagnie d'Applications Mecaniques (CAM). Subsidiaries formed in New Zealand, Turkey and Hungary.
1929: The SKF share introduced on the Paris stock exchange, and through an agreement with a banking firm in New York, could be exchanged for American certificates on the New York Produce Exchange and Chicago stock exchange. Seven German ball bearing factories acquired. A new company formed in Germany - Vereinigte Kugellagerfabriken A.G. Production concentrated to Schweinfurt and Cannstatt. Lidkopings Mekaniska Verkstads AB acquired.
1931: German head office moved from Berlin to Schweinfurt. Next economic depression began.
1932: Subsidiary formed in Japan.
1933: Production increased. Subsidiary formed in India. Agents appointed in Iran and on Cyprus. Factory closed in Hartford, US and head office and manufacture moved to Philadelphia.
1934: Subsidiaries in Venezuela and Ecuador dissolved and agents appointed. Agent appointed in the Dominican Republic.
1935: The SKF share introduced on the Geneva stock exchange. AB Volvo became independent of SKF.
1936: Egyptian subsidiary divested. Agents appointed in Cairo and Beirut.
1937: SKF vocational school opened. Uno Forsberg replaced Björn Prytz as Managing Director. Bjorn Prytz elected Chairman of the Board.
1938: The LMV factory in Lidkoping, Sweden considerably expanded. French ball bearing company Malicet et Blin (MAB) acquired. New ball bearing factory built outside Berlin. Sven Wingquist succeeded Björn Prytz as Chairman of the Board.
1939: Sales company formed in Bratislava, Slovakia. Agents appointed in Estonia and Nicaragua. A new bearing type - the spherical roller thrust bearing - developed and launched by SKF.
1940: Subsidiaries formed in Manchukuo, Poland and Australia. New factory acquired in Philadelphia, US. Agent appointed in Iceland.
1941: Subsidiary formed in Shanghai. Company in Bolivia closed and agent was appointed. The agencies in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania ceased their activities when these countries were occupied by the Soviet Union. Harald Hamberg succeeded Uno Forsberg as Managing Director.
1943: Branch offices in Argentina and Brazil became subsidiaries. The Polish company liquidated.
1947: Two new factories in the USA. Sales company formed in Helsinki.
1948: Post-war production began slowly in Schweinfurt and Cannstatt. The factory in Czechoslovakia nationalized. Branch office in Santiago formed into limited company. Agent appointed in Yugoslavia.
1949: Construction begun on a factory in Scarborough, Canada.
1950: Work begun on factory at St-Cyr-sur-Loire, France, as well as on one in Madrid, Spain. The company in Amsterdam started to build a factory in Veenendaal. A new spherical roller bearing, the 'C bearing,' was introduced.
1951: The American company bought a factory in Altoona, USA. Rebuilding of the German factories completed. New factory opened in Sundon, UK.
1952: The French company started a sales company for Morocco based in Casablanca. The Belgian company opened up an office in Elizabethville in the Belgian Congo.
1953: Sven Wingquist died on April 17 at the age of 76. He was succeeded by Harald Hamberg as Chairman of the Board. Joel Larsson was appointed new Managing Director. The Dutch sales company moved to Veenendaal where the new factory was inaugurated.
1954: Cold rolling mill, J.N. Eberle, in Augsburg, Germany acquired. Harald Hamberg died and was succeeded as Chairman of the Board by Jacob Wallenberg.
1957: Acquisition of Hellefors steelworks and associated cold rolling mill at Bangbro.
1962: Factory built outside São Paulo, Brazil. Inge Stenberg succeeded Joel Larsson as Managing Director.
1963: A research centre was built in King of Prussia, USA.
1964: Rolling bearing factory inaugurated in Poona, India, in which SKF had the majority shareholding. Inge Stenberg died and was succeeded by Folke Lindskog as Managing Director.
1965: RIV-SKF formed by SKF, obtaining two-thirds of the shares in the Italian rolling bearing company RIV, with factories in Argentina and Spain.
1966: Tools company, Malcus AB, in Halmstad, Sweden, acquired. Rolling bearing factory inaugurated in Uitenhage, South Africa.
1970: SKF had 68 factories with 67 700 employees, 78% of whom were employed outside Sweden.
1971: Factory in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia inaugurated as the result of a joint venture agreement with a Yugoslavian company. Jacob Wallenberg retired and was succeeded by Folke Lindskog as Chairman of the Board. Lennart Johansson was appointed new Managing Director.
1972: New research centre inaugurated at Nieuwegein, The Netherlands.
1974: SKF gained complete control over the Australian rolling bearing company of which it had been joint owner since 1959.
1975: Majority shareholding in The Sheffield Twist Drill and Steel Company acquired. Factory for textile machinery components opened in Singapore.
1976: Parent company name changed from Aktiebolaget Svenska Kullagerfabriken to Aktiebolaget SKF. SKF Industries Inc., PA, acquired McQuay-Norris Company, St. Louis, MO, a manufacturer and distributor of automotive components and spare parts.
1978: SKF-CAM closed the factory in Bois-Colombes. The Echuca plant in Australia closed after the government changed import regulations.
1979: The Fiat Group sold its minority interest in RIV-SKF to the SKF Group. Joint venture with IKL, the Yugoslavian company in Belgrade, concluded.
1980: SKF business supervision for Eastern European markets transferred from Vienna to a newly founded subsidiary, SKF Eurotrade AB in Gothenburg. SKF resumed activities in Zimbabwe after 12 years with no access to this market. Minority shareholding in the Iranian bearing company in Tabriz was divested. Folke Lindskog retired and was succeeded by Peter Wallenberg as Chairman of the Board.
1981: Plant in Scarborough, Canada, closed.
1983: Factory in Ivry, France closed. Bearing production in France concentrated in two factories: Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire and Fontenay-le-Comte. Anderton International, UK, acquired.
1984: Fagersten & Co., Sweden acquired.
1985: SKF share introduced on the Basel and Zurich stock exchanges and in New York through the NASDAQ system. Stellana Plast AB acquired. SKF Española became wholly owned subsidiary. Waldes Truarc Inc., acquired. Joint venture with Koyo bearing company in Japan started. Peter Wallenberg retired as Chairman of the Board and was succeeded by Lennart Johansson. Mauritz Sahlin was appointed Managing Director, replacing Lennart Johansson.
1986: MRC Bearings, USA acquired. Mexican bearing company IBISA became a wholly owned Group subsidiary. SKF Steel merged with Ovako Oy Ab to form Ovako Steel AB, of which SKF owned 50%.
1987: Acquisition of three companies within linear motion: Jacob AG, Switzerland, and Transmatic in Sweden and Norway, as well as Ateco in The Netherlands. Italian spindle and ball screws manufacturer Gamfior acquired.
1988: Acquisition of Austrian bearing company, Steyr Walzlager Ges.m.b.H. The British company AMPEP P.L.C., manufacturer of plain bearings for aircraft, acquired. SKF College of Engineering started. New sales companies in Thailand, Hong Kong, and an office in the Philippines, opened. SKF's national distributor in Indonesia formed a new company, P.T. Skefindo Pramatama. A consignment centre in Shanghai opened in cooperation with the Shanghai export trade organization.
1989: Majority shareholding in Palomar Technology International Inc., USA, acquired. Palomar manufactures equipment for condition monitoring of rolling bearing. Bearing factories in Bangalore, India and Guarulhos, Brazil inaugurated.
1990: Italian tools company Cofler & C.S.p.A. acquired. Seals manufacturer CR Industries acquired. Oil seals activities of Italian Gallino Gomma S.p.A. acquired. SKF Tools merged with German Gunther & Co. to form CTT Tools. Dymac, San Diego, specialists in vibration monitoring, acquired. SKF Tools acquired substantial assets in Union Butterfield Corp, US manufacturer of high-speed steel cutting tools. Acquisition of Fixtur-Laser, Sweden, manufacturer of laser measurement instruments.
1991: Acquisition of Swiss company SMM, manufacturer of high-speed spindles for spinning machines. German subsidiary Seeger-Orbis GmbH acquired two factories in East Germany. Channel concept introduced in the manufacturing operations. Sales companies opened in Poland and Bulgaria.
1992: Operations started at the new plant in Malaysia. CTT Tools division was sold. Lennart Johansson retired and was replaced by Anders Scharp as Chairman of the Board.
1993: Ball bearing production plant in Madrid was sold. Stellana AB, Fixtur-Laser AB, and French subsidiary ADR.S.A. sold as a result of SKF's increased focus on its core business, rolling bearings and seals.
1994: Goetze Elastomere GmbH, seals manufacturer, acquired. SKF European Distribution Centre in Tongeren, Belgium, inaugurated.
1995: CARB toroidal roller bearing launched. Joint venture company for manufacture of wheel hub bearing units established in Korea. 80% of Polish bearing company FLT Poznan acquired. Mauritz Sahlin retired and was replaced by Peter Augustsson as Managing Director.
1996: Joint venture with subsidiary of China Railways. New plant for manufacture of wheel hub bearing units built in Aiken, USA, in collaboration with SKF Technical Center in Detroit.
1997: New joint ventures in China, one for the manufacture and sales of spherical roller bearings together with the Wafangdian Group, and the other a new company for the manufacture of oil seals as a joint venture between Chicago Rawhide and ANZAG. Series production began at SKF Hanwha Automotive Components Corporation in Korea. Majority shareholding acquired in Indonesian bearing company PT Logam Sari Bearindo in Jakarta. FlexLink Systems AB sold. SKF and Revolve Technologies Inc. in Canada established a new company, Revolve Magnetic Bearings. Majority shareholding acquired in Lutsk Bearing Plant, Ukraine.
1998: A further joint venture in China was formed with Wafangdian Bearing Co. Ltd. US manufacturer of machine tool spindles, Russell T. Gilman, acquired. Sune Carlsson appointed President and CEO. SKF Group certified to ISO 14001.
1999: SKF Textile machinery Components with operations in Cannstatt, Germany and Singapore was sold. Forging unit at Arvika, Sweden sold. Partnership established with Gamfior, Italian manufacturer of ground ball screws. SKF Explorer bearings introduced. The e-business network, Endorsia.com, launched.
2000: The following acquisitions were made: Development Engineering International, a maintenance engineering consultancy company, Scotland; Machine Support BV, The Netherlands, specialist in precision geometric alignment; Sealpool AB, Sweden, supplier of sealing systems; Diagnostic Instruments Ltd, Scotland; Electrac S.A., French manufacturer of electromechanical actuators. Lidkoping Machine Tools was sold. SKF, FAG and NN Ball and Roller started joint venture for ball manufacturing. Outstanding shares in Revolve Magnetic Bearings acquired.
2001: Gamfior S.p.A., leading Italian manufacturer of high-precision motorized spindles and ball screws, acquired. The FILO drive-by-wire concept car developed jointly by SKF and the design company Bertone. SKF and Timken formed joint venture in Brazil to produce bearing rings. SKF Logistics Services opened its new Asian distribution centre in Singapore. SKF signed an agreement with Sandvik, Rockwell Automation, INA and Timken to share ownership of Endorsia.com. SKF Manufacturing Development Centre established in Gothenburg, Sweden.
2002: SKF Reliability Systems expanded with the acquisition of Delta Consult in The Netherlands and Erin Engineering and Research in the USA. Further acquisitions were Magnetic Group, Switzerland, a leading manufacturer of electromechanical actuators; Aerospace Bearings UK, manufacturer of bearings for main shafts and gearboxes for jet engines; SBB in Bulgaria with four bearing factories; and The Twentieth Century Machine Co., a USA manufacturer of ground ball screws. SKF Bearings Co. Ltd. in Shanghai, a new joint-venture factory, started production of small size deep groove ball bearings.
2003: Tom Johnstone succeeded Sune Carlsson as Managing Director and CEO. Acquisitions were Scandrive Control AB, Swedish manufacturer of servo gears for the printing industry, and Rolling Stock Supply & Service Pty Ltd, Australia, specializing in service of railway bearings. Component manufacturing operations in The Netherlands sold. SKF decided to leave the Paris, Zurich and NASDAQ stock exchanges.
2004: Willy Vogel AG, a world leader in lubrication systems, acquired. An Industrial Services Centre was opened in Moscow, Russia. Remaining 40% of Anhui CR Seals Co., Ltd. in China acquired.
2005: The SKF share was delisted from the London Stock Exchange. Jaeger Industrial Ltd in Taiwan, a leading manufacturer of electromechanical actuators, acquired. Acquisition of Sommers Industriteknik AB, distributor of Vogel lubrication systems in Sweden. SKF, Rautaruukki and Wartsila combined their long steel businesses into a jointly owned company, Oy Ovako AB.
2006: SKF was certified to the health and safety management standard OHSAS 18001. Acquisition of 51% of the shares of the North American seals company Macrotech Polyseal Inc. SKF Life Theory adopted as the new ISO standard for bearing life calculations. SNFA SAS, a leading French manufacturer of bearings for aerospace and machine tool applications, acquired. A leading Finnish lubrication systems business was acquired. SKF, Rautaruukki Corporation and Wartsila Corporation sold Oy Ovako Ab. Precision Balancing & Analyzing in the US, specialist in repair and upgrading of machine tool spindle mechanisms, acquired. Monitek, leading Australian predictive maintenance services company, acquired. Economos Austria Gmbh, an industrial seals company, acquired.
2007: SKF celebrated its 100th anniversary. Production started at three new factories in Asia, one in China and two in Korea. Important acquisitions were ABBA, a manufacturer of linear guides with headquarters in Taiwan; S2M, a leading French magnetic bearing company; Baker Instruments, a leading manufacturer of testing and diagnostic instruments in the US; Automatic Lubrication Systems, a service company for Canadian mobile transportation equipment; Preventive Maintenance Company Inc, a US-based market leader in predictive maintenance services. The forging business at the Luchow plant in Germany was sold. New product and service launches include a new range of energy-efficient bearings which provide at least 30% less friction in the bearing.
2008: Acquisitions in 2008 included American QPM Aerospace’s metallic rod business; two factories in China and one in Thailand from the US-based PEER Bearing Company; Cirval S.A., an Argentine company specialized in design, manufacture and sales of centralized lubrication systems. Anders Scharp retired as Chairman of the Board and Leif Ostling was elected new Chairman. The energy efficient bearing family was extended with the addition of spherical and cylindrical roller bearings. In light of weakening demand SKF announced at the end of the year that it would be reducing capacity and costs.
2009: Remaining 49% of Macrotech Polyseal Inc, USA, were acquired. The company is now renamed SKF Polyseal. The network of SKF Solution Factories was extended. This is a concept that brings together SKF’s entire service offering. Together with Cambridge University, the SKF University Technology Centre on Steels was set up at Cambridge campus. SKF Global Testing Centre opened in Bengaluru.
2010: The SKF University Technology Centre on Tribology was set up in conjunction with Imperial College London. Two new factories opened in India (Hardiwar and Ahmedabad) and one in Russia (Tver). New SKF Industry Service Centres opened: for wind industry in Shanghai and Houston; for oil and gas industry in Aberdeen and Stavanger; for marine industry in Rotterdam. The SKF Global Technical Centre China opened. The network of SKF Solution Factories was extended, comprising 17 units at the end of the year. US-based lubrication systems company Lincoln Holdings Enterprises was acquired.
2011: The cage factory in Gothenburg was sold. The SKF University Technology Centre on Sustainability and Environment was set up together with the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. SKF Distributor College, started in 2001, awarded its 100 000th certificate. The college offers training to SKF distributors. A Latin American Distribution Centre was opened in Montevideo, Uruguay. A second factory for production of medium size bearings was opened in Dalian, northeast China. Factory in Brazil extended to produce advanced wheel bearings. SKF Global Technical Centre India was opened in Bengaluru, and an SKF University Technology Centre on condition monitoring and asset management was established together with the Lulea Technical University, Sweden.
2012: SKF Group acquired US-based General Bearing Corporations. SKF developed a range of Knowledge Engineering apps for the mobile market. A Guinness World record was set at Liseberg and SKF supported the Kim Kallstrom Trophy during Gothia Cup. The integration and re-branding of SNFA was completed. SKF increased focus on sustainability and launched a aggressive climate strategy and a partnership with WWF to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The BeyondZero concept was revealed with a portfolio of solutions with significant environmental benefits. SKF celebrated 100 years in China with new investments and inauguration of a new factory in Jinan, China.
2013: SKF acquired Blohm + Voss Industries GmbH and Kaydon Corporation and divested metallic rods operation to Precision Castparts Corp. For the 14th year in a row, SKF was listed as one of the world’s most sustainable companies by both the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI) and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for Europe.
2014: SKF invested in two new Global Technical Centres in Europe and one in United States.
2015: The Industrial Market was formed from the former business areas Strategic Industries and Regional Sales and Service.
2016: SKF announced an investment in the world’s most powerful test centre for large-size bearings in Schweinfurt, Germany. SKF continued to divest non-core business, including Fly-by-wire and Kaydon Velocity Control. The Group also ramped up investments in world-class manufacturing technologies in Gothenburg, Schweinfurt and Flowery Branch.
2017: The fully automated manufacturing plant for SRBs was inaugurated in Gothenburg. Divestments of non-core businesses continued through the divestment of Reelcraft. The Sven Wingquist Test Center was opened in Schweinfurt. The Group launched new climate objectives for 2025.
2018: Application specific bearings for two wheeler market launched
2018: Customer need based megaproject launched for improving product efficiency & cost for specific application
2019: Project “SustEn 6” was launched in 2019 under six sigma umbrella structure in line with ISO50001 guide lines.
2019: Two DGBB and One VAS Product Launched.
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