SKF India (Industrial) Ltd, a prominent name in high-performance bearing technologies and rotating equipment solutions, has achieved a key milestone in its localization roadmap, further cementing its role in supporting industrial expansion across India and Southeast Asia. Over the last several years, the company has expanded its footprint across the region through sustained investments, resulting in the rollout of advanced production lines at key locations. The Ahmedabad facility now manufactures medium deep-groove ball bearings above 150 mm OD, strengthening local availability of products that were previously imported.
In Malaysia, the Nilai plant has begun producing medium spherical roller bearings in the 180–320 mm OD range, while the Pune unit has added a dedicated line for UC-series ball bearing units. Together, these capabilities broaden the company’s manufacturing base, improve supply responsiveness, and reinforce its role as a regional production hub.
These upgraded sites now act as regional production centers, lowering reliance on imports, improving delivery timelines, and strengthening SKF’s integration with local industry. All products are built using SKF’s global processes, technology platforms, and quality benchmarks—mirroring the standards of its European operations—ensuring customers receive consistent, world-class reliability from plants closer to their end-use markets.
Mukund Vasudevan, President – India & Southeast Asia and Managing Director, SKF India (Industrial), said “With the new lines running in Ahmedabad, Pune, and Nilai, we’ve shifted from planning to execution. Localization is fully operational. These capabilities place production nearer to our customers, enhance technological access, and create efficiencies that benefit the entire value chain.”
By producing bearing types that were previously imported, SKF can now offer quicker market response, reduced lead times, and stronger supply assurance for high-growth segments including railways, renewable energy, infrastructure, metals, cement, food processing, mining, and automation.
To build on this progress, SKF India (Industrial) has announced an additional investment of ₹800–950 crore through 2030. This includes a new manufacturing facility planned in Pune by 2028, aimed at driving further capacity expansion, deeper technology adoption, and enhanced sustainability.
The region’s importance was highlighted during the recent visit of Rickard Gustafson, President and CEO of the SKF Group. His tour of key sites gave him a close view of the scale, technical advancement, and quality systems shaping SKF’s ongoing transformation, reaffirming India’s role in the company’s global growth strategy.
SKF is steadily evolving into a leaner and more digitally enabled manufacturing organization. The company is deploying AI-based inspection systems, advanced lubrication technologies, predictive maintenance tools, and circular-economy-based remanufacturing practices—combining technology with customer-driven performance outcomes. Each new production line has been developed to deliver precision, efficiency, and sustainability at scale, strengthening SKF’s leadership in industrial innovation, dependability, and long-term competitiveness.
Founded in 1907, SKF is a global leader in bearings, seals, lubrication systems, condition monitoring, and friction-reducing technologies. By helping industries lower energy loss and operate more efficiently, SKF contributes to building a more sustainable and productive global manufacturing landscape. The company operates in around 130 countries, supported by nearly 17,000 distributor locations. In 2024, SKF recorded sales of SEK 98,722 million and employed 38,743 people.
