Mumbai: SKF will be offering technical support at the Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2011, which starts today at the North Track of the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“For SKF, as a Knowledge Engineering Company, it is important that we meet the engineers of the future and discuss new technologies that will contribute to sustainability and a better world. SKF is constantly looking for more energy-efficient solutions to help our customers. Shell Eco-marathon is a great opportunity to further guide us on that path,” says Rakesh Makhija, President, SKF Asia.

The four-day competition challenges high school and college student teams from around Asia to design, build and test energy-efficient vehicles. The winner will be the team that goes the furthest distance using the least amount of energy. In addition, the teams may also compete for off-track awards which consist of safety, technical innovation, designs and communications.

“In the automotive industry it is critical for us to work closely with our customers to develop energy efficient solution for the future vehicles. The innovative ideas we can see coming from students is an important input for us”, says Torsten Nordgren, Director Automotive Division SKF Asia.

Started in France in 1985, the Shell Eco-marathon has now expanded to Asia and the United States. SKF has been a Shell Eco-marathon partner in Europe right from the beginning and SKF is now also a partner for the Asia event.

This year, approximately 120 teams from around Asia have qualified to take part in the race. During the past months, SKF representatives visited local universities in many participating countries like China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines and offered technical advice as well as bearings for the racing cars of registered teams. This year there are nine teams from India that will be travelling to Kuala Lumpur to participate in the event. The teams are from premier technical institutes in the country like National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Chitkara Institute of Engineering & Technology Chandigarh, Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology, Delhi Technological University, Delhi, National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur and R.V.College of Engineering, Bangalore.

Shishir Joshipura, Managing Director, SKF India commented, “We are happy to have so many teams from India participating at the Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2011. At SKF India we greatly value the future engineers of the country and are proud to partner with these teams to offer technical support and the use of SKF energy efficient bearings.”