Finding new bearings for development

According to Johnstone, the facility has already carried out some innovative trade and settlement measures with the support from Shanghai Free Trade Zone, including classified supervision by status of goods, strengthened function of delivering goods in batches, making centralized customs declaration, and opening international settlement accounts.

These greatly facilitated trade and contributed to the efficient and quick flow of funds.

"In a sense, the future development of SKF North East Asia Distribution Center will be the epitome of China's effort to strengthen its construction as a resource allocation hub in the global trade system," he said.

China accounts for more than 12 percent of SKF's global sales of 63.6 billion Swedish krona ($9.3 billion) in 2013.

While partly offset by the temporary cooling in the world's second-largest economy, growth still outpaced that of most other regions, Johnstone said.

Though economic uncertainty has seen some multinational companies winding down operations, SKF has never been hesitant about adding investment here.

Johnstone foresees the automobile, railway and renewable energy sectors enjoying growth.

To sustain its growth, SKF has put more resources into research and development and the country's automotive market by establishing a new SKF campus in Shanghai's suburban Jiading district to support growth in China and across Asia.

The 700 million krona-investment includes the setting up of a new automotive factory that produces hub-bearing units for passenger cars and also the relocation and expansion of the Global Technical Center China, SKF Solution Factory and SKF College.

The rationale of Johnstone is that the campus effectively integrates various SKF resources in product development, engineering, manufacturing, testing and training, which attract customers with more high value-added products and services.

Being in China on-and-off for 20 years, Johnstone admitted to not seeing enough China from a non-business perspective.

The merging cultures of SKF and China make Johnstone optimistic about the future.

"It is impressive to see the speed of the development of the past two decades in China," he said.

"As a knowledge-based engineering company, we will continue to innovate, and at the same time, create more value via innovation of commercial operating mode and utilizing SKF's knowledge," said the CEO.

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