Acquisition of B.E.S. completes range of services for railway and industrial bearings

SCHWEINFURT, July 19, 2005. The acquisition of B.E.S. (Bearing Engineering Services Pty Ltd), one of Australia’s two leading reconditioning companies for railway wheel set and industrial bearings, will help FAG Kugelfischer expand its presence ‘down under’. This purchase also represents a consistent continuation of the strategy pursued in the Asia-Pacific region by Schaeffler Group Industrial, which consolidates FAG’s and INA’s industrial business, of providing customers with comprehensive services in addition to the Group’s product business.

B.E.S. has locations in Sydney and Perth with a total of 20 employees and will initially continue to be a legally independent company. Under the management of FAG Australia, B.E.S. will also continue to recondition bearings from all manufacturers.

Australia’s wheel set bearing market has been growing steadily for years. Customers increasingly demand both new bearings and reconditioning services from a single source. FAG already occupies an excellent market position in the original equipment business. The acquisition of B.E.S. will now make FAG one of only a few suppliers that can offer this type of complete service. A software system developed by B.E.S. allows customers to track a bearing throughout its life cycle, including all reconditioning stages, and to be better able to meet the stringent railway safety standards.

The railway sector is not the only one to benefit from this acquisition. The ability recondition industrial bearings in Australia from now on also represents a significant improvement for the strategic position of the heavy industries sector. Its customers will be provided with even better service. Their requirements can be met better and more quickly, particularly since B.E.S. is the only company on the market that offers the reconditioning of industrial bearings.

Earlier this year, the purchase of CMSA (Condition Monitoring Services Australia Pty Ltd) by FAG Industrial Services (F’IS) signalled the company’s intent to further expand its services in Australia. CMSA, based in Adelaide, focuses on the condition-based maintenance of rotary components. Vibration diagnosis, thermography and tribology are CMSA’s primary core competencies.

FAG Australia is a member company of the Schaeffler Group, which has approximately 58,000 employees at more than 180 locations worldwide and sales of 7.2 billion euros (2004 business year). The Schaeffler Group is one of the leading rolling bearing manufacturers and automotive suppliers worldwide. The Group includes the INA brand (rolling bearings, linear systems, engine components), FAG brand (rolling bearings, services) and LUK brand (clutches, transmission components, hydraulic pumps).


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