(Yicai Global) April 26 -- Sweden’s SKF, the world’s largest bearings manufacturer, has invested SEK770 million (USD92 million) to build a new large ball bearings production base and expand its research and development center in eastern China.

The 130,000-square-meter project is located in the city of Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, where SKF built a plant and R&D center in 2018, The Paper reported yesterday. That first phase began operations in January last year.

The second phase is now under construction. Once up and running at the end of this year, the project’s output will reach CNY4.1 billion (USD631.8 million), the report cited Li Ning, party secretary of Xinchang county in Shaoxing, as saying.

It will be China’s largest single bearings plant, according to Li, who added that it is also the biggest foreign investment project in Xinchang county for years.

Europe consumes about 25 percent of global bearings and the Americas 20 percent. After the past 15 years of rapid growth, Asia’s consumption accounts for half of the global total. China has developed into the world’s largest bearings consumer at over 30 percent of the total market, the report said.

Six of the world’s eight largest multinational bearing companies have set up bases in China, it added.

Editor: Tom Litting