RBC Bearings Inc. (USA; NASDAQ: ROLL) said it has formally completed the sale of the building and surrounding real estate of its former Nice Bearings plant in Kulpsville, Pennsylvania.

Plans for the sale were initially announced in February 2006. Included are the 16-acre site and 132,000 square foot plant and warehousing.

article: RBC will sell off Nice Bearing Kulpsville Plant
Dr. Michael Hartnett, RBC's Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, said: "The sale of this facility represents the final phase of our Nice Bearings consolidation. We are very pleased with our team's continued progress in driving efficiencies across the business and their ability to move production seamlessly from the Nice Bearings facility to other RBC locations. We believe that the completion of this facility sale demonstrates our continued execution and commitment to operational improvement."

The buyer, Corvest Realty Group (website) reportedly intends to either raze the building and develop the site or convert the existing building entirely to warehousing.

RBC said its net proceeds are approximately $3.5 million, sharply lower than the listing and expected net proceeds of $5 million. RBC's said its gain on the sale is approximately $800,000, but did not indicate if that figure includes the $1 million plant closing expenses taken in fourth quarter 2006.

Nice manufactures a full line of precision ground, semi-ground and unground bearings and bearing assemblies. The company focuses on special and standard inch dimension ball bearings for automotive, industrial, lawn equipment, conveyor, material handling, medical and semiconductor equipment, bicycles, automotive strut and steering column applications.

The Nice brand has been sold exclusively by SKF/MRC since RBC acquired the Nice Ball Bearing Division from SKF in 1997. SKF reportedly has a ten year exclusive distributorship agreement, through 2007.

Competition from low-price imported bearings, however, has been taking its toll on SKF's ability to market Nice bearings. As one distributor noted, "I think most customers see Nice as just a more expensive domestic alternative. Imports offer more crossover into the Nice line, and competing on price is not where it's at."

Production and employment at the Nice plant was slowly eroding, as orders from SKF slowed in recent years.

By 2005, RBC had begun to explore the possibility of selling the entire 16-acre Kulpsville location, leasing back half of the building. Overhead would be reduced, no equipment would have to move, and proximity to SKF Kulpsville would have been maintained.

A Steelworkers spokesman told eBearing that RBC was surprised when it listed the property, offers coming in were, "far, far higher than RBC ever dreamed."

Nice bearings are now primarily produced in RBC's West Trenton, New Jersey facility. West Trenton had been producing spherical plain bearings, needle roller bearings, and cam followers. In addition to West Trenton, some Nice bearings are also reportedly being manufactured in Hartsville, South Carolina.

Nice Ball Bearing was founded in 1914 by William Nice as a spinoff of his Pressed Steel Manufacturing Company. Later acquired by SKF, Nice became a division of RBC in 1997; SKF/MRC retained exclusive rights to distribute the product line through 2007.

Nice is also part of organized labor history. In 1941, Nice workers founded the U.S. bearing industry's first dedicated union by formally organizing the Anti-Friction Bearing Workers Union. In 1962, the AFBWU merged with the United Steelworkers of America to become USWA Local 6326. In 1999, it and several small locals were merged to become USWA Amalgamated Local 6816, Unit 12.