SKF Bearings Bulgaria EAD (Bulgaria)

SKF Bearings Bulgaria is one of central Europe's leading bearing producers. It is a successor of the bearings production plant, part of state Vazov Group of arms plants (VMZ). VMZ, which specialises in guided weapons systems, used to be a pivot in Bulgaria's once flourishing Soviet-style defence industry. However, the company lost market positions after the disintegration of former communist trade block COMECOM in 1990.
In January 2002, Bulgarian authorities launched a tender for the sale of the bearings plant-one of the most viable units at the debt-laden VMZ group. Three firms placed bids for the plant - Swedish roller bearings manufacturer SKF, Bulgarian-registered VSK Kentavar and ORS-Bulgaria, an affiliate of Turkey's ORS. In March 2002, Bulgaria's Privatisation Agency sold the bearings plant to SKF for USD 6.42 million. The buyer pledged to invest EUR 6.75 million in the plant located in the town of Sopot, central Bulgaria, over the next three years. SKF invested some EUR 6.0 million in the bearings unit by the end of 2004 and earmarked another EUR 4.0 million for upgrade of production facilities in 2005.
The company's bearing operations comprise three factories in Bulgaria – at Sopot, Kalofer and Karnare. It manufactures deep groove ball bearings in the 22 to 100 mm outer diameter range. SKF Bearings Bulgaria sells about 10% of its production on the domestic market and exports the rest to some 30 countries worldwide.