In 1915, production of the "Volvo bearing" started and a new company was established in Hartford, US. SKF aslo built a factory in the same area. In addition, a sales company was established in Norway while a branch office was opened in Rio de Janeiro and an agent was appointed in Uruguay. In 1916, SKF acquired Hofors Bruk in Sweden, The Hess-Bright Manufacturing Co. in Philadelphia, and Grönkvists Mekaniska Verkstad in Katrineholm, Sweden. SKF also established a new company in South America to manage its sales there. This led to the opening of branch offices in Argentina and Chile. In 1917, SKF build a new ball bearing factory in Bois-Colombes, France as well as established sales companies in Uruguay and Canada, the latter one being a subsidiary of the US company. More agents are appointed, this time in Hungary and Siam. In 1918, SKF acquired the Atlas Ball Co. and opened a sales office in Peru. Subsidiaries were established in Italy and Czechoslovakia in 1919. Meanwhile, the sales and manufacturing organizations located in the US were combined and renamed SKF Industries, Inc. During the 1920s, SKF continued to expand as it formed sales companies and subsidiaries in Switzerland, Mexico, Poland, Yugoslavia, Japan, Cuba, Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, Egypt, Portugal, Bolivia, Venezuela, New Zealand, Turkey, and Hungary. Offices were also opened in Australia, Algeria, Vienna, British India, and Prague.