MO: SKF to Invest $34M to Construct New 73-New-Job Facility in St. Louis

Gov. Jay Nixon announced that global manufacturer SKF will construct a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for industrial lubrication systems in NorthPark, in St. Louis County. Beginning this fall, the expansion includes a $34.2 million investment, the creation of up to 73 new jobs within six years, and the retention of 388 jobs.

“Today, global manufacturers like SKF can make their products anywhere in the world, so their decision to invest and create jobs in St. Louis County is a tremendous vote of confidence in this region’s workforce and business climate,” Gov. Nixon said.  “Construction of this new state-of-the-art facility will provide a significant boost to the area’s economy and reinforce Missouri’s position as a hub for advanced manufacturing and engineering jobs.”

The SKF Lubrication Business Unit, headquartered in St. Louis, is a leader in the design, manufacture and supply of highly engineered automatic lubrication systems as well as lubrication tools and equipment. SKF employs more than 48,000 employees operating in 130 countries worldwide.

“SKF is leading the way in bringing the latest innovations to market. We are leaders in industrial lubrication, and we see a bright future ahead for our St. Louis operation,” said Robert Law, president of the SKF Lubrication Business Unit. “This is the right move for our employees, and it will help us grow and thrive as a company.”

In 2010, SKF acquired Lincoln Holdings Enterprises Inc. to enhance its products and solutions, expand its business in a number of market segments, and improve geographical coverage. Since then, the SKF Lubrication Business Unit has experienced significant growth and plans to build a 310,986-square-foot, state-of-the-art, energy-efficient manufacturing facility in the St. Louis region. The construction will take place in NorthPark, a joint development located adjacent to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and the same site of a major Express Scripts expansion earlier this year. Construction is slated to begin this fall and be completed in December, 2015.

To facilitate the project, the state of Missouri is working with SKF to identify applicable economic incentives, which the company can redeem if it meets the strict job creation and investment criteria for each program.