SKF said that under the agreement, it will provide a variety of products and services, including bearings, remanufacturing, lubrication systems and connected condition monitoring units, to Gerdau’s Charqueadas and Araçariguama mills.

Data from key machines at the mills will be analyzed at SKF's Rotating Equipment Performance Center in Brazil, which will plan maintenance projects and corrective actions, improving machine reliability and performance, SKF said.

“By offering customers in the steel industry the opportunity to work with us on a fee basis, we give them access to our full competence around the rotating shaft, in order to improve productivity,” said Claudinei Reche, president of SKF Latin America.

“We will be able to help Gerdau improve their output and reduce their consumption of bearings, grease and energy, reducing the impact of their operations on the environment," Reche said.