SKF Signs Multi-Year Contract With Richard Childress Racing; Includes Technical Partner Agreement

ELGIN, Ill., Dec. 9, 2004 -- SKF today announced the expansion of its NASCAR NEXTEL Cup involvement, signing a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Richard Childress Racing (RCR).

With the start of the 2005 NASCAR season, SKF will hold sponsorship positions on the No. 07 of Dave Blaney, the No. 29 of Kevin Harvick and the No. 31 of Jeff Burton. Additionally, the agreement includes a technical partnership between RCR and SKF engineers. Both parties will communicate worldwide to develop new technologies focused toward building on RCR's racing performance, as well as new products intended to increase the safety and performance of consumer vehicles.

"SKF's longtime NASCAR involvement has generated excitement for the company both internally and externally around the world," said Per Jacobsson, Director of Marketing Communications, SKF. "Increasing our level of racing involvement with RCR will offer SKF a new avenue to promote our products and services to our audiences, as well as research and develop new products for the automotive industry."

Additionally, Rob Jenkinson, Manager of the SKF Racing Unit, Automotive Division, comments on the technical partnership with RCR: "The opportunity to work with RCR engineers will benefit both parties extremely. We will use resources from each SKF division - Automotive, Heavy Duty, Industrial and Aerospace - to improve the performance of the RCR Racing Team. Together, RCR and SKF will work toward total mechanical efficiency to improve machines on the racetrack and on today's highways around the world."

"It's great for RCR to sign on a technical partner with all of the knowledge and expertise that SKF has," added Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. "I think SKF will help carry RCR to the next level on the technical side of the business. We think there are many things that SKF will bring to the table that will put us back in victory lane."

For the past seven seasons, SKF has utilized its NASCAR involvement to promote its products, services and industry activities. SKF actively communicates the messages of the "Be Car Care Aware Campaign" and the "Right to Repair Act" through its NASCAR relationships.

Additionally, SKF's racing involvement stretches around the globe. Since 1947, SKF has joined forces with Formula One's Scuderia Ferrari, creating the longest technical supplier relationship in the sport. The Scuderia Ferrari F1 machines contain over 150 bearings and seals, designed and manufactured exclusively by SKF. SKF also maintains close racing partnerships with Aprilia and Ducati.

SKF is the leading global supplier of products, customer solutions and services in the business of rolling bearings and seals. Headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, SKF has technology centers in the Netherlands, Italy and the United States. SKF is a worldwide supplier of roller bearings, radial shaft seals, precision-engineered elastomeric products, and related products and services to the automotive, aerospace, heavy-duty/off-highway, industrial and marine industries.