Michell Bearings, a leading UK Babbitt bearing manufacturer that supplies products to the global industrial and naval industries, has announced the incorporation of a USA business, Michell Bearings Inc.

The incorporation will allow customers in North America, especially those in the USA naval industry, to collaborate with Michell Bearings in a more efficient way.  It will also assist Michell Bearings in providing engineering and manufacturing content on future programs from the United States of America (USA).

Located within an 8,500 sq. ft. facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Michell Bearings Inc. will provide a hub for all current and future USA contracts.  Plans are also in place to open a sales and engineering head office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during 2022.

The new facility will enhance Michell Bearings’ current service to USA customers, enabling the coordination of USA supply chain activities, manufacture and assembly from the Sioux Falls site for those contracts where in-country content is required. This will expand the company’s offering to its customers in North America and generate USA jobs in both Michell Bearings Inc. and its suppliers.

The announcement, at the Sea, Air, Space exhibition in Maryland, follows many successful contracts for the UK manufacturer from USA customers involving both industrial and naval product applications, with engagement on naval projects dating back almost 50 years.

Geoff Humble, Sales and Marketing Director at Michell Bearings, said: “We are delighted to announce the incorporation of our USA business at the exhibition this week. The event marks the first time that we have exhibited at a naval show in the USA which is an important milestone for our business.

“The investment into Michell Bearings Inc. further demonstrates our long term commitment to customers across the Americas, which is a key strategic market for Michell Bearings.  It will also allow us to engage with customers in a more efficient manner from a USA base, together with providing local engineering support and in-country manufacturing content on key USA Government programs.”

Last year Michell Bearings announced the celebration of its centenary year following its incorporation in 1920 by Australian engineer, Anthony George Maldon Michell, who invented the hydrodynamic bearing in 1905.

Now a member of the British Engines Group, Michell Bearings employs over 150 people within manufacturing sites in the UK and India, as well as a long established global sales network.