Right name in the right places

SKF Group is not the first business-to-business company I have interviewed, but definitely among the ones that has left me with the deepest impression.

While SKF has been a supplier of ball bearings to Ferrari Formula One since 1947, it does not go for prominent publicity events, so not many individual customers are familiar with the brand, even though the cars they drive use SKF bearings. But what SKF executives told me is that it's not really necessary for a B2B firm to be a household name. Rather, SKF should be known in the right places and for the right reasons.

Finding new bearings for development

From talks with company officials to visits at exhibitions, what strikes me is how SKF has recognized that the growth of a company is closely related to the development of communities. It has launched two corporate social responsibility programs in China.

Each year, it funds young soccer players from China's poverty-stricken areas to participate in the world's largest youth soccer tournament, the Gothia Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden. This program helps underprivileged children to realize their dreams, providing them with an opportunity to broaden their horizons, open up their minds and make more friends.

SKF China partners with the State Forestry Administration to select several sites hit by sandstorms in Liaoning province and plant trees by using the most advanced forestation technology and practices to increase the survival rate of saplings.

Zhu Jiming, SKF China President, said: "SKF not only treats itself as a local company and part of the 'Chinese Dream' but also contributes to everyone's 'Chinese Dream'."