SKF to Discontinue Production in Germany

The factory manufactures plain bearings, which in future will be manufactured at the Schweinfurt plant and also be outsourced.

A competitive market and high production costs at the Püttlingen plant as well as the currency development has negatively impacted profitability, making cost saving measures necessary to restore profitability for the plain bearing business. The closure of the Püttlingen plant will affect some 300 employees.

About SKF

The SKF Group is the leading global supplier of products, customer solutions, and services in the business of rolling bearings and seals. The Group's main competencies include technical support, maintenance services, condition monitoring and training. SKF also holds an increasingly important position in the market for linear motion products, as well as high precision bearings, spindles and spindle services for the machine tool industry, and is an established producer of bearing steel.

The SKF business is organized into five divisions; Industrial, Automotive, Electrical, Service, and Aero and Steel. Each division serves a global market, focusing on its specific customer segments.

SKF has some 80 manufacturing sites distributed all over the world. With its own sales companies in 70 countries, supported by some 7 000 distributors and dealers worldwide, its e-business marketplace and global distribution system, SKF is always close to its customers for the supply of both products and services.

SKF was founded in 1907 and from the very beginning focused intensively on quality, technical development and marketing. The results of the Group's efforts in the area of research and development have led to a growing number of innovations that has created new standards and new products in the bearing world.

The Group has a global IS0 14001 environmental certification. The various Divisions have been approved for quality certification in accordance with either ISO 9000 or QS 9000.