Founded in 1907, SKF has maintained its position as a global leader in bearing technology. This century of experience, technological know-how and dedication to detail, has helped the company to evolve significantly, with its offering focused on total solutions for rotating equipment.
"With a century of technological leadership we aim to leverage product capabilities and application knowledge," says SKF South Africa managing director, Gavin Garland.
SKF knowledge and capabilities are supported by five broad product technology platforms: bearings and units; seals; lubrication solutions; mechatronics; and services.
The bearings and units platform, which also incorporates power transmission, forms the core of the company's business, while growth in the other four platforms through a number of strategic acquisitions, has given this global manufacturer the lead in the lubrication solutions, asset management, seals and mechatronics fields.
The company's range of bearings and accessories was recently expanded with the launch of its CARB (compact aligning roller bearing) and Explorer Spherical Roller bearings.
SKF's Lubrication Division designs, installs and maintains tailor-made lubrication systems on fixed industrial and mobile (off and on-road) plant. The company acquired two world-leading lubrication systems manufacturers to strengthen its product range and competence in this technology.
Through internal growth and the acquisition of a number of world-leading seal manufacturers the company has consolidated its position as a seal manufacturer. Fifteen factories across the globe are currently producing seals in accordance with SKF's stringent quality standards.
The company is in the process of introducing a complete range of SKF branded Power Transmission products to southern African markets. With 33 000 line items and R50m invested in stock availability SKF is poised to make a significant impact on the local power transmission market.
In mechatronics, the company has manufacturing units for ball and roller screws, precision and profile rail guides and linear actuation systems. Primary areas of application are in medical, industrial, and manufacturing technology, automation and robot engineering. Magnetic bearings, fly-by-wire and drive-by-wire technologies are also part of this platform. SKF is the exclusive authorised distributor for the THK linear motion product range.
"In order to provide further value to our customers, we have invested R4,5 million in a Johannesburg-based bearing re-manufacturing facility. The facility is purpose-designed for the refurbishment of large bearings, which will greatly assist our customers in alleviating availability issues," concludes Garland.
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