SKF College inaugurated near Pune

Bearings major SKF India is set to play a major role in the SKF Group's global business plans.

This  willl include manufacturing some of the products from SKF's global portfolio in India as well as offering training to the company's employees in the latest technologies.

Inaugurating the SKF College Campus within the premises of the company's manufacturing facility 20 km from here, SKF's global president and CEO Tom Johnstone said the company is moving in the direction of becoming a "knowledge engineering company", and intends to pass on to customers the expertise earned over 100 years of existence.

"SKF College Campus will help us connect closer and translate our vast learning experience to both our customers and employees through various learning programmes," Johnstone said.

The centre will draw its faculty from SKF establishments in India as well as elsewhere in the world. Similarly, the participants will comprise SKF employees or customers in India or overseas. "The training programmes will be on all the five platforms that form the company's business including bearings and units, seals, lubrication systems, services and mechatronics," Johnstone said.

This is the second SKF College after the one established in Netherlands in 1987. The company has also set up an applications development centre in Bangalore to work on the two-wheeler segment.

Rakesh Makhija, managing director  of SKF India, said the company has been growing at a steady 20% for the last few years and the pace will be maintained. "In addition to our existing businesses, we anticipate a major opportunity in the area of wind eneregy as we have developed products that enhance the performance of wind turbines. There is significant interest in India in wind power generation, and we look forward to find customers who erect windmills here," he said.

Makhija said SKF India may also begin manufacturing products that are meant for worldwide supplies. This will begin with the medium cyliander roller bearing, which the company will start manufacturing in the second quarter of the current year, he added.