NTN Bearing

NTN Corporation is a manufacturer of constant velocity joints, bearings, and precision equipment. NTN products include thrust roller bearings, radial roller bearings, linear motion bearings, plummer blocks, plastic bearings, automatic tensioners, linear modules, and condition monitoring systems for wind turbines. The company also offers maintenance, repair, and overhaul services. NTN products are sold to the automotive, industrial machinery, and aftermarket & distributor markets.

History

NTN started out in 1918, a result of a partnership between Noboru Niwa and Jiro Nishizono to design and produce the first NTN ball bearings. By 1939, the company had built Kuwana Works which eventually became its global manufacturing center. In 1954, the company was awarded the Deming Prize for statistical quality control, the first Japanese industrial manufacturer to ever have received it. During the 1950s to 1960s, NTN continued to grow. The company constructed additional factories and established a sales operations in Europe. In 1963, NTN Bearing Corporation of America was established. By this time, the company was able to manufacture automotive constant velocity joints, ball bearings, needle, spherical, tapered, and cylindrical roller bearings. During the mid 1980s, NTN purchased Federal-Mogul Corporation's Bower™ brand. Several years later, the BCA™ brand was acquired, enabling the company to expand its product line to include automotive clutch release bearings and specialty agricultural bearing assemblies. NTN's growth continued over the next several years with the construction of seven plants in North America. In 2008, NTN's two-year investement in SNR, a French bearing manufacturer, yielded the company a controlling stake in SNR. Today, NTN has over fifty plants across the globe and is the third largest bearing manufacturer in the world.

Headquarters & Locations

NTN Corporation has its global headquarters in Osaka, Japan. NTN USA Corporation, on the other hand, is headquartered in Mount Prospect, Illinois along with NTN Bearing Corpration of America. In North America, NTN has several subsidiaries in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. In addition, the company has plants in Macomb, Illinois; Hamilton, Alabama; Schiller Park, Illinois; Elgin, Illinois; and Mississauga, Ontario. NTN also has enterprises in Brazil, Panama, Australia, Singapore, France, UK, Germany, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, and Taiwan.

Photo Courtesy of NTN USA Corp.