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The eBearing News
November 17, 2004
SKF Reveals Plans
for Expansion in Bulgaria
copyright © 2004 eBearing Inc.
SKF AB (Sweden) revealed it is now planning significant additional investments in Bulgaria,
as much as €100 million (USD $131 million), following on its successful acquisition
and ongoing turnaround of VMZ-Sopot.
Vazovski Mashinostroitelni Zavodi -- now named SKF Bearings Bulgaria EOOD -- was acquired in
early 2002 from the Bulgarian Privatization Agency. VMZ has four factories: the head office in Sopot,
Kalofer, Karnare, and Bogdan. Its state-run situation obvious, VMZ had employed over 1,600 workers.
• 2001 article: Bulgaria approves privatizing bearing works
• 2001 article: SKF mulls bidding for VMZ bearing works
• 2001 article: Bulgaria cancels sale of VMZ to SKF
• 2002 article: SKF completes acquisition of privatized VMZ
• 2004 article: SKF progress continues with VMZ acquisition
As one of Central Europe's better-known bearing brands, VMZ facilities were at one time almost entirely
dedicated to manufacturing military equipment. Its product line includes deep-groove ball bearings from
22mm to 100mm.
To date, SKF has spent at least USD $6.5 million modernizing the plants, improving working conditions,
teaching strict worker safety, training employees, and generally bringing the operations up to
acceptable, if not world-class, levels. The plants are now ISO 9001 certified.
Although the VMZ acquisition was drawn out, expensive, and often troublesome, insiders told eBearing
that ultimately it was worth the effort. SKF, "learned many, many valuable lessons," about doing business
in Bulgaria which, "will be put to good use," said the source.
SKF President Tom Johnstone, visiting the facility in September, said, "Bulgaria is a good place to do
business. I am very pleased that we decided to invest in Bulgaria and I consider our project here as one
of SKF's most successful."
Recently, other SKF executives went to Bulgaria and met with Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg.
In those meetings, SKF told the Prime Minister it has targeted Bulgaria for
the €100 million ($131 million) investments.
The company did not further specify if these would be entirely new projects or related in some way
to VMZ or any other existing operations. In the past, SKF simply said its plans for Bulgaria are to be more
involved in, "an area that is experiencing rapid growth and development."
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- by Bruce A. Carr
from individual research,
tips and commercial sources.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered
trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright © 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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