The company's existing small-size tapered roller bearing manufacturing in China will be transferred to the new plant, expected to be fully operational during in the first quarter of 2019, SKF said.

Three existing sites in Ningbo, Shanghai and Changshan will be closed as a result.

"The investment in Changshan allows us to capitalise on this trend by bringing our SKF, GBC and PEER brands and expertise together, under one roof."

SKF, the world's largest maker of industrial bearings, has embarked on a drive to modernise and automate its manufacturing plants across the world in recent years.

It has previously run SKF, GBC and PEER separately, but are now seeing the benefit of combining them.

"There are big synergies from bringing them together, both in terms of production, but also when it comes to development and purchasing," SKF spokesman Theo Kjellberg told Reuters.