Problems caused by global warming such as climate change and abnormal weather are becoming increasingly severe.

The economic growth of emerging nations such as India and China has caused a rapid rise in vehicle ownership and production volumes.

Staff shortages are making it difficult for companies to fill positions.

With Japan’s population increasingly aging, about 30% of the country is now aged 65 or older.

Stricter emissions and other environmental regulations are being enacted in countries throughout the world.

Users are demanding reductions in the noise levels of running machinery and vehicles on the road.

The Company’s R&D work focuses on tribology technology and is divided among four regions throughout the world. To rapidly identify and respond to customer needs, each region shares information on areas such as design, prototyping, testing, production technology and customer projects. We are moving into new business areas by refining individual bearings into module products that incorporate sensors and other peripheral technologies, and system products that combine mechatronics and control technologies.
In September 2017, we created the "NTN Next Generation Research Alliance Laboratories" to help us strengthen our of core technologies and create businesses in new areas.

NTN has created "Procurement Guidelines", which have been formulated with a focus on global perspective, fairness/impartiality and preservation of the global environment, and are used to guide our procurement activities. We engage in green procurement, giving priority to trading partners with outstanding environmental preservation work or environmental quality. We also work to promote procurement in local or optimal locations. Guided by the "NTN CSR Procurement Guidelines" we have created, we actively encourage suppliers to take part in CSR activities to promote CSR throughout the entire supply chain. We have started holding Supplier Meeting events to improve our communication through Supplier Meeting, growing partnerships with suppliers.

We engage in worldwide production in areas of local demand as a way to meet customer needs, reduce total lead time and reduce distribution costs. Establishing smart factories is an area of focus in Japan. We will concentrate production of ball bearings (a core product) at the Wakayama Works, a new facility that manufactures high value-added products with growing market demand. At our overseas production bases, we are working on creating more robust rules for model transfers and process changes, while sending out support staff from mother plants and quality control departments to handle on-site auditing, investigation of past problems and process improvement. These activities are designed to ensure stable quality from the very start of production and quality assurance systems that conform to the same standards worldwide. Developing and producing our manufacturing equipment in-house lets us expand on our portfolio of proprietary expertise, while our proactive approach to human resources training ensures that this expertise passes to the next generation of employees.

Reps from our sales departments visit customer development sites to discuss the issues they face while developing new products, and even provide precisely targeted responses to any problems they are having with existing models. We also maintain adequate stock and extensive lineups to meet customer production plans. The staff of our sales departments include sales technology reps who can rapidly identify customer needs and suggest appropriate solutions. Before customer put our products into actual use, we provide them with after-sale services in the form of on-site briefings to explain topics such as bearing usage methods.

Our work in the automotive segment includes developing more advanced bearings, hub bearings and driveshafts to create higher added value. We are also combining these core products with core technologies to develop module products. To prepare for the coming era of electrification and autonomous driving, we have released a series of “Electric Motor and Actuators” composed of ball screws, motors and controllers. We are working on expanding their range of applications and proposing them to customers. Marketing these products globally will allow us to meet demands for better fuel efficiency and ride comfort in conventional vehicles, while also meeting rapidly growing needs for electrification.

NTN ULTAGE Series, the world’s highest class new generation bearings, is expanding its lineup to address the needs for higher precision and speed. In response to various industrial market needs, NTN’s products provide solutions that contribute to low torque and reduction in size, weight and environmental burdens. Going forward, NTN continue to develop elemental technologies of bearings, as well as highly value-added products by unitizing or systemizing peripheral components.

NTN helps to improve the productivity of customers’ equipment and maintain consistent operations through the stable supply of products and a quick delivery system by our global supply chain. For the maintenance needs of automobiles, we offer a wide range of auto parts that combine bearings and peripheral components. We also provide after-sales services, such as holding engineering seminars with a technical service units, to help our customers improve their production efficiency and ensure their stable operation.