SKF

SKF is a Swedish bearing and seal manufacturer. Its marine business unit, centred on SKF Blohm + Voss Industries GmbH in Hamburg, is a major supplier of shaft-line components for ocean-going ships. SKF acquired Blohm + Voss Industries (BVI), a business that grew out of the Blohm + Voss shipyard founded in 1877, in 2013; BVI employed over 400 people at the time.

The marine portfolio includes Simplex and SKF stern tube seals such as the Simplex-Compact oil-lubricated seal, complete stern tube systems including the Simplex BlueRun and FlexiTube solutions, hydrodynamic shaft-line bearings, SKF OK shaft and flange couplings, retractable and non-retractable fin stabilisers, Simplex-Compact rotary vane steering gear and Turbulo bilge water separators. These products serve deep-sea merchant ships, cruise ships and naval vessels.

The unit operates majority-owned subsidiaries in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Busan, holds minority stakes in the UK and Japan, and works with more than 60 sales agents and service stations worldwide. Sources checked do not show any completed divestment of the marine business.