SKF to relocate its Super Precision Bearings unit from Stonehouse, UK to dedicated factories in Italy

SKF’s Super Precision Bearings are used primarily in the machine tool sector, with most of the major European machine tool manufacturers now being based in southern and central Europe. The company therefore believes that concentrating its development and production resources at its Italian factories will enable it to provide a faster and higher standard of service to key customers.

The relocation of the Stonehouse facility will result in 82 redundancies in the UK and SKF has been working closely with employees, unions and outplacement specialists to minimise the impact of the changes. In particular, the company has managed to redeploy some employees within other local SKF manufacturing units, while others have taken voluntary redundancy. Additionally, the company has provided the services of outplacement specialists to help staff find new jobs elsewhere, organise job search workshops and to offer access to retraining programmes in the local area.

The factories in Villar Perosa and Torino already manufacture Super Precision Bearings, enabling the transfer of resources to be carried out relatively quickly, in phases between June and August. The specification of all products currently manufactured in the UK will remain unchanged, as will the company’s planned programme of new product development.