Scaling operations from the heart of the Americas.

RKB officially opened its Sudamericana facility in Panama to create a central hub for distributing bearings across Central and South America. The location, between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and just five minutes from a major port and the interoceanic railway, allows RKB to use both maritime and land transport routes, resulting in shorter delivery times and lower logistics costs.

The facility is built to manage high volumes of bearings. Its infrastructure and warehouse capacity support RKB’s plan to expand its presence in the Americas. One of the main advantages is access to extended customs hours at Albrook, which allows goods to be cleared outside regular working hours. This flexibility helps to move products fast, including at night or on weekends, helping to meet short deadlines and respond to urgent customer needs.

The warehouse has 1,000 square meters and can store RKB bearings valued at about $10 million. It focuses on medium to large-sized bearings used in critical applications such as HPGRs, ball mills, and vertical mills operated by large-dimension producers, and rolling mill trains, which are often difficult to source. The main sectors served include steel, paper, sugar, palm oil, naval, mining, aggregates, and cement.

A training and learning centre on-site provides practical sessions for partners and end users on how to handle, install, and maintain bearings. These sessions help reduce equipment failure, improve efficiency, and support longer operating life.

RKB Sudamericana was built with future growth in mind and includes an additional 500 square meters of space available for warehouse expansion.

Next steps include expanding the range of products, bringing in new technical solutions, and adding services like consulting and preventive maintenance. The goal is to keep delivering solid, reliable value to customers.

In the short term, RKB Sudamericana is working on improving warehouse operations, growing training programs, and building stronger connections with the regional industry. In the longer term, the facility is expected to move into new markets, increase its range, and build its role as a key supplier of bearing solutions in the region.

Building strategic partnerships and exploring new business opportunities are key pillars of RKB’s growth plan. RKB Sudamericana is positioned to support distribution, service, and collaboration across the Americas.

The article is also available in the Summer 2025 issue of Best Bits magazine or our website’s media library.