SKF signs a strategic partnership agreement with CITIC Special Steel

SKF has signed a strategic partnership agreement with CITIC Pacific Special Steel Co., Ltd (CITIC Special Steel), to further strengthen the relationship between the two companies and with the ambition to create economic benefits and sustainable development for both parties.

The agreement includes cooperation in the areas of purchasing, new product and technology development as well as human resources development.

CITIC Special Steel intends to widen the range of steel and steel components developed and supplied to SKF. SKF intends to support the development of CITIC Special Steel’s operations by offering products and solutions as well as integrated maintenance services.

- I am convinced that we will have a more solid and diverse strategic cooperation with CITIC Special Steel and it is well in line with SKF’s long-term goal to deliver more value to our customers. We have developed a good relationship with CITIC Special Steel over the years, as a supplier to SKF. This agreement will further strengthen our cooperation, says Tom Johnstone, SKF President and CEO.

- We will consider SKF as one of the most important global strategic partners and try our best to build a new platform and mechanism for the cooperation between the two companies, says LIU Jie, Chairman of the Board of CITIC Special Steel.

- We intend to continuously expand the cooperation areas and promote the level of cooperation, realising complementary advantages and mutual benefits, creating a win-win situation for the two companies, says YU Yapeng, President of CITIC Special Steel.

Gothenburg, 10 March 2011

Aktiebolaget SKF
(publ)

For further information, please contact:
PRESS: Ingalill Östman, SKF Group Communication, tel: 46 31-337 3260, mobile: 46 706-973260, e-mail: ingalill.ostman@skf.com
IR: Marita Björk, SKF Investor Relations, tel: 46 31-337 1994, mobile: 46 705-181994, e-mail: marita.bjork@skf.com

SKF is a leading global supplier of bearings, seals, mechatronics, lubrication systems and services which include technical support, maintenance and reliability services, engineering consulting and training. SKF is represented in more than 130 countries and has 15,000 distributor locations worldwide. Annual sales in 2010 were SEK 61,029 million and the number of employees was 44,742. www.skf.com