SKF USA Inc., a subsidiary of Swedish ball bearings giant Aktiebolaget SKF, is set to move into a new $35 million U.S. headquarters in Towamencin, Pa.
The company, which makes roller and ball bearings used in industrial and automotive markets, will move into a new building totaling 84,000 square feet and a renovated 35,000-square-foot warehouse at 890 Forty Foot Road in the Towamencin Business Center. The headquarters is scheduled to be completed this month and will have upwards of 500 employees working from it.
Thomas E. Hall & Associates Inc., a Wayne, Pa., architectural firm, designed the three-story building and the renovation of the warehouse. The property was the former home to Penn Reels, a manufacturer of fishing reels.
SKF maintains its headquarters off Gehman Road in nearby Kulpsville, Pa. Philadelphia Suburban Development Corp., a private real estate firm in King of Prussia, Pa., is the developer of the project and owns the Towamencin Business Center. Philadelphia Suburban won an RFP to build the facility for SKF. The company has operations in 50,000 square feet in Kulpsville and maintains two other sites in the Allentown and Valley Forge, Pa., areas and decided to consolidate, said Mark Nicoletti of Philadelphia Suburban.
“It’s a great project,” he said. “It’s a real economic catalyst for that area.”
The new building also has other implications, according to Nicoletti. “Everyone is scared commercial office space is the next shoe to drop but it shows life in an asset class that people are worried about,” he said.
SKF signed a 15-year lease on the built-to-suit. The deal was arranged by Geis Realty. The business center sits on 29 acres and has room for additional new office construction.
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