Bearing Industry News

SKF Expands Global Footprint with New Global Capability Centre in Pune – 2 September 2026
SKF inaugurated a new Global Capability Centre in Pune, strengthening global engineering, digital, operational and support capabilities from India. The development reinforces India's role as a manufacturing and engineering hub and highlights the growing importance of engineering, digitalisation and global support functions in the bearing sector.

Schaeffler and CATL Expand EV Technology Collaboration – 2 September 2026
Schaeffler and CATL signed an MoU to jointly develop battery-management and integrated power technologies for electric vehicles, including Battery Management Systems and X-in-1 Integrated PowerBox solutions. The development is relevant to bearing suppliers because EV platforms require compact, efficient, low-noise, high-speed and thermally robust motion components.

Sujeeth Pai Appointed Managing Director of SKF India (Industrial) – 1 September 2026
SKF India (Industrial) appointed Sujeeth Pai as Managing Director, succeeding Mukund Vasudevan, who moved to a broader SKF Group industrial-region role. The transition comes as the Indian business continues to focus on manufacturing, digitalisation, engineering and industrial customer solutions.

NRB Bearings Expands into Aerospace and Defence – August 2026
NRB Bearings completed its strategic acquisition of Mahant Tool Room, a precision-component manufacturer with AS9100D certification for aerospace and defence applications. The move broadens NRB's precision-engineering capability beyond automotive and industrial bearings.

Timken Reports Strong Q2 2026 Performance – August 2026
Timken reported Q2 2026 sales of approximately USD 1.26 billion, up 7.5% year over year. Engineered Bearings sales were approximately USD 807 million, while Industrial Motion sales were approximately USD 453.9 million, showing continued activity across engineered-bearing and industrial-motion businesses.

Schaeffler India Reports Double-Digit H1 2026 Growth – July 2026
Schaeffler India reported January–June 2026 revenue from operations of approximately ₹5,188.4 crore, up 18.1% from the corresponding period of 2025. Q2 2026 revenue was approximately ₹2,681.4 crore, up 17.5% year over year.

Schaeffler India Receives BIS Licences for Cylindrical Roller Bearings – 3 July 2026
Schaeffler India announced that its Maneja and Savli plants received BIS licences for Cylindrical Roller Bearings under the new Indian standard and also received licences for Deep Groove Ball Bearings. The development highlights the growing importance of certification and conformity in India.

SKF India Approves New Pune Manufacturing Facility – February 2026
SKF India (Industrial) approved a new manufacturing facility/unit in Pune, supporting additional domestic capacity, localisation and supply-chain strengthening.

SKF Selects TCS for AI-led Business Transformation – June 2026
SKF selected Tata Consultancy Services for a global AI-led business-transformation programme. AI and analytics are increasingly relevant to bearing manufacturing, predictive maintenance, quality control, demand planning and industrial services.

Precision, Railway and Automation Developments
Recent industry coverage also highlights railway bearing technology, super-precision bearings and industrial automation. These developments point toward continued growth in high-accuracy, high-speed, safety-critical and application-specific bearing solutions.

2026 Industry News Themes

India as a manufacturing and engineering base
EV and e-mobility technology
Railway and metro applications
Aerospace and defence localisation
BIS and quality certification
AI, digitalisation and predictive maintenance
Precision and super-precision bearings
Industrial MRO and aftermarket
Manufacturing automation and supply-chain resilience