On May 18, the second phase of bearing giant SKF’s Changshan production base in Quzhou, Zhejiang, was officially put into operation. The project has a total construction area of over 57,000 square meters and its products are mainly tapered roller bearings and cylindrical roller bearings. Both are rolling bearings and are important components in modern machinery.
SKF Changshan production base was founded in 2017. The first phase of the project was put into operation in April 2019, with a construction area of over 40,000 square meters.
The construction of the second phase project started in 2022, with an annual production capacity of approximately 40 million sets of bearings, which is increased compared to the annual production capacity of 36 million sets of bearings of the first phase project. SKF did not disclose the specific investment amount of the second phase project.
Werner Hoffmann, chief financial officer of SKF China and Northeast Asia, told Jiemian News reporters, “In addition to the factory area and product types, the industry fields targeted by the second phase of the Changshan production base are also different from those of the first phase.”
The first phase of the SKF Changshan production base project is mainly the integration of the previously closed Shanghai factory, Ningbo factory and Changshan local factory. The products are used in commercial vehicles, agricultural machinery and general machinery and other industries. The application fields involved in the second phase of the project also include passenger cars, construction machinery, agricultural machinery and medical treatment.
Founded in 1907, SKF is one of the world’s largest rolling bearing manufacturing companies and is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.
SKF first entered the Chinese market in 1912 and has now formed an overall layout in China from manufacturing, technology research and development, procurement and supply chain.
Shi Bo, Vice President of SKF China, said that in the past three years, SKF has rapidly deployed in Xinchang, Changshan, Wuhu, Dalian and other places in China, and its production bases and R&D centers are constantly moving to China. SKF has 77 production bases around the world, 8 of which are located in China. The factory area in China is nearly 700,000 square meters, ranking first in the world.
According to SKF’s plan, by 2025, the Asia-Pacific region will achieve an 85% product localization rate.
In 2022, SKF achieved sales of 96.9 billion Swedish kronor (approximately 64.9 billion yuan), a year-on-year increase of 18%; net profit was 4.4 billion Swedish kronor (approximately 2.9 billion yuan), a year-on-year decrease of 39%.
Among them, net sales in China and Northeast Asia were 20.1 billion Swedish kronor (approximately 13.4 billion yuan), accounting for 21% of the entire SKF Group.
SKF said that in 2022, the growth rate of the bearing market in China and Northeast Asia will be at a medium level, with a market size of approximately 200-220 billion Swedish kronor (approximately 134-147.4 billion yuan), accounting for nearly half of the global bearing market. Among them, China’s bearing market demand accounts for about one-third of the world’s, and China’s bearing parts supply accounts for more than 40% of the world’s.