In February 2010, SKF, will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in the UK.
SKF was founded in Sweden in 1907 by Sven Wingqvist, inventor of the double row self-aligning ball bearing, and has subsequently grown to become a global specialist in rolling bearing, seals, mechatronics and lubrications systems.
In the UK, SKF initially opened a sales office in Lower Regent Street, London, in February 1910, with land being purchased for a production site in Luton, where construction work started, in Leagrave Road, just a few months later.
In 1911, the new factory initially employed 150 people and produced around 180 bearings per day. By the end of the First World War, this figure had risen to 24,000 units per month and continued to increase in the following years.
Further expansion over the next two decades led, in 1936, to the opening of a new factory in Sundon, a few miles from the existing plant. Production at the Leagrave site continued until 1977 when all operations were centralised at the Sundon plant, now the UK headquarters.
Today, the Sundon factory produces spherical and CARB toroidal roller bearings for heavy industrial applications. SKF also offers a range of support services from the Sundon site, including machine tool spindle repairs and the refurbishment Taper Bearing Units (TBUs) for the railway industry.
In addition, SKF has a number of facilities across the UK; in Aberdeen for the delivery of maintenance strategy and services to the offshore oil and gas sector; in Gloucestershire for the manufacture of high performance bearings for the aerospace sector; and in 11 centres across the UK for the production of custom engineered sealing solutions.
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