SKF Celebrates a Century With Swedish Party

It’s not often that a local company can raise the roof on reaching the century mark, but that’s what the folks at SKF Reliability Systems in San Diego plan to do Feb. 16.

That’s when the company’s parent, the SKF Group, based in Sweden, celebrates its 100th year in existence.The local office hasn’t been around that long, actually only about 40 years. It’s changed hands several times since it started as Spectral Dynamics in 1967.Later, the business that originally manufactured testing and measurement equipment was acquired by Scientific Atlanta/Dymac. It then merged into Palomar Technology International before being acquired by SKF in 1991.The local unit has 120 employees, including 30 who have been around for more than 25 years.

The machines made at SKF’s plant in Kearny Mesa are analysis devices such as hand-held computers to help engineers in industrial sites monitor machine operations.SKF, based in Gothenburg, is a leading supplier of roller bearings, and has 40,000 employees worldwide.

The components that SKF makes have had a long and distinguished history. They flew with Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, flew to the moon in Apollo XI, and are contained in the giant London Eye Ferris wheel.

Mark McGinn, SKF’s managing director here, says the party next month has a Swedish theme, with Swedish food, games, entertainment, and visitors from the Swedish Consulate and president of the House of Sweden in Balboa Park.

“In today’s business environment the ability to celebrate being in business for 100 years is almost unheard of,” McGinn said.

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