Prospect, pdf - the SKF site for the capital market

Asia currently accounts for almost 50 per cent. of the world bearing market, compared with less than 30 per
cent. ten years ago. China has been growing rapidly over the last few years supported by the expansion of its
domestic railway infrastructure and a robust demand in renewable energy and now accounts for more than 25
per cent. of the total world bearing market demand. Japan's share of the world bearing market has been
declining, and domestic Japanese bearing demand now accounts for less than 15 per cent. of the world total.
Other Asian markets with bearing production and showing significant growth in recent years include India,
Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Republic of Korea.
The Chinese bearing market, which is the largest and fastest growing of the emerging markets, is very
fragmented with the main international bearing companies accounting for about one third of the market while
the other two thirds of the market consists of a host of local manufacturers. Some of the largest include:
Wafangdian (ZWZ), Luoyang (LYC), Harbin (HRB), Zhejiang Tianma (TMB). Wanxiang Qianchao, and
C&U. The Indian bearing market has been growing at the same pace as the Chinese market and now
accounts for about 5 per cent. of the world bearing market. The players in that market include international
manufacturers and several local manufacturers such as NEI, NRB, ABC and TATA. Europe accounts for less
than 25 per cent. of the world market total with Germany alone accounting for almost 10 per cent. The
Americas now represent less than 25 per cent. of global demand, of which the USA, Canada and Mexico
together account for about 80 per cent. In South America, Brazil is the major market and makes up more than
60 per cent. of regional demand.
SKF is a world leader in the market for bearings. Other major international companies include the Schaeffler
Group, Timken, NSK, NTN and JTEKT. Radial deep groove ball bearings are the most common rolling
bearing type, accounting for almost 30 per cent. of world bearing demand. Other major ball bearing types
include angular contact ball bearings, self-aligning ball bearings, thrust ball bearings and automotive wheel
hub bearing units accounting for more than 10 per cent. of the total world bearing market. Roller bearing
account for less than half of the world bearing market. Roller bearings are named after the roller shape, such
as cylindrical roller bearings, needle roller bearings, tapered roller bearings and spherical roller bearings. All
of these are available for loads acting across the shaft (radial bearings) and for loads that are parallel with the
shaft (thrust bearings). There are also bearings that contain both balls and rollers simultaneously. The largest
roller bearing family is the tapered roller bearing, with almost 20 per cent. of the world bearing market.
Actuation and motion control market
This market includes a wide variety of different products in which mechanical components and systems,
electric drives and intelligent controls are combined to provide different types of controlled motion. SKF
estimates that the global markets for actuation and motion control increased by 15 per cent. in 2011 over the
previous year in local currencies, to around SEK 70 billion worldwide. More than half of the market is in
Asia, one third in Europe and the remainder in North and Latin America. The market consists of many
suppliers with different backgrounds and offers; from producers of basic mechanical components to
specialists in motors, software or controls. SKF's largest competitors include LINAK (Denmark) in the
actuator business and THK (Japan) in the linear motion area. There is a clear industrial trend towards a
higher use of mechatronic solutions driven by increasingly stringent demands on reliability, flexibility, cost
of ownership, energy efficiency and environmental impact.
SKF is active in developing and offering a comprehensive range of mechatronic components, modules and
sub-systems for many industrial and consumer applications, which provide extensive customer benefits.
SKF's main focus segments in this market include the medical industry, factory automation, semi-conductors
and the oil and gas industry. SKF is active in the oil and gas segment and involved in developing products
and solutions for sub-sea applications, which are considered to be tomorrow's new technological frontier of
this industry. SKF is a leading supplier for heavy duty actuation systems (systems with a high utilization
rate), roller screws and magnetic systems solutions, including magnetic bearings, controllers, motor drives
and high-speed motors. SKF also supplies linear guides, ball screws and complete systems, such as by-wire
systems for aerospace, off-highway and automotive applications.
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