SKF AB

F:SKFA

Business Description

Sector

Industrials

Industry

Machinery

Headquarters

Sweden SE

Employees

42 602

IPO date

Mar 30, 1905

SKF AB makes bearings and related components that help machines rotate smoothly and last longer. Its core products include ball and roller bearings, seals, lubrication systems, and condition-monitoring tools used in equipment such as motors, gearboxes, vehicles, wind turbines, rail systems, and factory machinery.

Its customers are mainly industrial companies and original equipment makers that build machines, plus maintenance teams that keep those machines running. SKF sells through direct sales and distributors, and it also earns money from aftermarket parts, repairs, technical services, and maintenance contracts. Once a machine is installed, it often needs replacement bearings and ongoing support, which creates a steady service business alongside new product sales.

SKF sits in an important middle layer of the industrial economy: it does not build the full machine, but it makes the precision parts that keep the machine moving reliably. That gives the company a role in both original equipment design and the long-term upkeep of installed machinery, especially where failure is costly and uptime matters.