In an era defined by geopolitical shifts and rapid industrial transformation, the traditional playbook for manufacturing is being rewritten. Efficiency alone is no longer enough; resilience, regionalization, and data-enabled agility have become the new benchmarks for success. In a candid conversation with Efficient Manufacturing, Karl Robin Joakim Landholm, Senior Vice President, Commercial and Operations Development at SKF Group, shares his insights on how the global leader is navigating this “structural reset.” From SKF’s ₹653 crore investment in India’s industrial corridor to the integration of AI-driven diagnostics, Landholm explores how the company is moving beyond productivity-centric models to deliver a value-centric, frictionless future for global manufacturing.
- From a global leadership standpoint, how do you define operational excellence today, and how has its meaning evolved for manufacturers navigating economic uncertainty and rapid industrial transformation?
From a global leadership perspective, operational excellence today extends far beyond traditional metrics of efficiency and cost control. In an environment shaped by volatility, geopolitical realignments, supply chain disruptions, and rapid industrial transformation, excellence is defined by resilience, adaptability, and intelligent execution at scale. It is about building structurally regionalised supply chains, digitally integrated operations, and agile manufacturing systems that can respond swiftly to change while delivering sustained value.
At SKF Group, this means strengthening localisation to be closer to customers, while leveraging globally unified data and AI-driven analytics to enhance visibility and decision-making across the value chain. Our investments in digital twins, advanced automation, and next-generation production systems reflect a deliberate shift toward data-enabled, high-precision manufacturing environments that extend lean principles beyond factory walls into the broader ecosystem.
For manufacturers navigating transformation, operational excellence is no longer productivity-centric; it is value-centric. It is about ensuring reliability, uptime, sustainability, and lifecycle performance. In India, this philosophy underpins our investments and strategic focus enabling customers to operate more efficiently, scale with confidence, and compete globally with resilience and agility.
2. Across global markets, what major shifts are you observing in manufacturing priorities — particularly in areas such as resilience, supply chain localization, and sustainability?
Across global markets, manufacturing priorities are undergoing a structural reset. Volatility has become a constant, driven by geopolitical realignments, tariff uncertainty, supply chain disruptions, and the accelerating pace of digital and industrial transformation. In this context, resilience is no longer optional, it is foundational. Manufacturers are moving from efficiency-led global optimisation toward regionalised and localised supply networks that enhance agility, reduce risk exposure, and ensure faster responsiveness to customers.
Sustainability and digitalisation are equally central to this shift. Decarbonisation targets, electrification trends, and evolving regulatory frameworks are reshaping investment decisions and operational models. At the same time, the growing complexity of supply chains demands unified data, real-time visibility, and AI-enabled decision-making to maintain competitiveness at scale.
At SKF Group, these shifts translate into structurally regionalised supply chains, digitally integrated manufacturing environments, and a sharper industrial focus post-demerger. The emphasis is on reducing friction across machines, processes, and decisions while strengthening localisation, enabling data-driven operations, and embedding sustainability directly into manufacturing. Through disciplined transformation and strategic capital allocation, we are building a more resilient, flexible, and future-ready industrial platform capable of delivering long-term value in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
3. India is positioning itself as a key global manufacturing hub. How do you see the Indian market evolving, and what opportunities does it present for advanced industrial solutions and partnerships?
India is currently at a pivotal crossroads as it transitions into a global manufacturing powerhouse. We see the Indian market evolving from a cost-centric model to one defined by high-performance value and indigenous innovation. This shift presents a massive opportunity for advanced industrial solutions, particularly as the “Make in India” initiative pushes sectors like energy, railways, and heavy engineering toward global standards.
For SKF India (Industrial), this evolution is a primary driver behind our recently announced ₹653 crore investment to establish a “Factory of the Future” in Pune by 2030. This digitally enabled, sustainability-driven campus will strengthen localization and bolster supply chain resilience. By accelerating local production for high-precision bearings and units, we are ensuring critical sectors like railways and energy have immediate access to world-class technology. Our goal is to provide the technical backbone that allows Indian manufacturers to compete globally through superior asset performance and agility.
4. With increasing adoption of digitalization, condition monitoring, and intelligent maintenance solutions, how is SKF leveraging technology and innovation to help manufacturers improve productivity and asset reliability?
At SKF India Industrial, we believe the future of reliability lies in the marriage of physical engineering and digital intelligence. Following our strategic demerger in late 2025, we are now more agile in leveraging technology to help manufacturers improve productivity. We utilize our Rotating Equipment Performance (REP) framework to shift the industry from reactive maintenance to a data-driven, predictive model.
A key innovation here is our integration of AI and IoT-enabled sensors, such as the IMx condition monitoring systems we showcased at EXCON 2025. These tools provide real-time diagnostics that detect anomalies long before they lead to failure. By combining these insights with our deep knowledge of bearing physics, we help operators move to condition-based maintenance, effectively eliminating unplanned downtime. This digital leap is the fastest way for Indian manufacturers to optimize their Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and maintain a competitive edge in a high-speed global market.
