SKF Restructures Activities

...integrated into the other divisions.

The development, manufacturing and sales of bearings, seals and airframe components for the aerospace industry, which are part of the Aero and Steel Division, will be moved to the Industrial Division. The forging operations, that also are part of this division, will be transferred to the Automotive Division.

The development, manufacturing and sales of small ball bearings and bearing seals, that are part of the Electrical Division, will be transferred to the Automotive Division. The customers and the buying patterns are similar, few and large customers that buy large volumes on longer contracts. The development, manufacturing and sales of medium size ball bearings, that are mainly supplied to the industrial market, will be transferred to the Industrial Division.

Personnel Changes

Kaj Thorén, President of the Aero and Steel Division, will as Senior Vice President reporting to the CEO, support the transition process until mid of 2006 when he will retire. Giuseppe Donato, President of the Electrical Division, becomes Senior Vice President and Advisor to the CEO, mainly to support the Group's mergers and acquisitions.

Rationalisation in France

SKF France has decided to initiate a project to restructure its operations by reducing the number of employees by some 150 at its ball bearing plant in Fontenay le Comte, in the south west of France. The move of customers from Western Europe to Eastern Europe and Asia and their decisions to have local suppliers, has led to a lower demand for the products that are manufactured at this plant. SKF has, consequently, to adapt the number of employees to the volumes manufactured. The reduction would be done during next year according to the legal procedures in France.

The cost for this programme, voluntary retirement programmes and impairments that will be charged to the fourth quarter of 2005 amounts to SEK 190 million.