NTN to Build Global Quadrilateral R&D System
-New Technology Center to Strengthen New Product Development-
NTN Corporation (NTN) is gearing up to establish a “quadrilateral global research and development system”* connecting Japan, North America, Europe and China to support the rapidly developing technical innovations worldwide and respond to borderless markets. The first phase includes the consolidation and rejuvenation of the company's new product development functions with the Technology Center to be built in Shizuoka Prefecture's Iwata City, located near the development base of major automakers and other large customers. This new center, to be completed in October 2005, will be located inside the NTN Iwata Works, one of the company's development bases for new products and production technology, where it will serve as the “mother center” for the global supply of new products and technologies.
The Technology Center will not only develop technology for existing NTN business fields, but will also strive to strengthen new product development expertise for next-generation automobiles, environmental energy, medical equipment, robots and other sophisticated sectors. To raise the level and quality of customer services, the center will improve the customer service system for overseas customers and will enhance its design and evaluation testing systems. A particular focus will be fortifying specialized divisions handling applied research in electronics technology, with an eye for development of major new products for electronically powered automobile components and other cutting-edge technology fields. In addition, a 24-hour R&D system will be used to tender development proposals and handle customers worldwide, using the latest IT and testing facilities, real-time networking with overseas technology centers and other means to share technical information and make effective global use of testing equipment. The combined goal of these strategies is to accelerate new product development and facilitate quicker customer services. The Center will feature a rooftop garden and pursue a policy of procuring machinery that has a low environmental load while introducing our own environmental equipment products and other eco-friendly considerations. The Center will be housed in an NTN-developed seismically isolated building that can withstand an earthquake with a force similar to that of the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake, and be equipped with crisis management functions that will serve as a disaster prevention center for the Iwata business district.
Features of the Technology Center (tentative name)
| (1) | Location | : | Inside the NTN Iwata Works (1578 Higashi Kaizuka, Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture) |
| (2) | Total floor area | : | Aggregate floor space for 5 floors = 16,800m2 |
| (3) | Structure | : | The building will be built on a seismically isolated structure using the “support system with sliding type seismic isolator” manufactured by NTN Engineering Plastics Corp. |
| (4) | Facilities | : | In-house power generation, well water supply systems and other emergency response equipment designed for use during accidents and natural disasters
Roof greenery
Eco-friendly air-conditioning |
| (5) | Total construction costs | : | Approx. ¥3 billion |
| (6) | Construction schedule | : | Early March 2005: Commence work
October 2005: Assume occupancy |
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New Technology Center (tentative name). |
(*) Quadrilateral global research and development system
As a major plank of its “Rapid Advance 21” medium-term business plan, NTN will adopt as its motto “Design Determines All” to promote the “Creation of Value.” By strengthening its global research and development system as outlined below, NTN is determined to accelerate its customer service capabilities and increase the quality of its services to improve the efficiency of R&D investment.
| (1) | The Technology Center in Japan will administer new product development, along with commercialization and standardization of new technologies. |
| (2) | The regional technology centers in four regions will handle technical services for customers, product design, approval tests and other work. |
| (3) | The current worldwide NTN staff of 1,100 researchers and engineers will be increased to 1,300 in fiscal 2006. |
| (4) | State-of-the-art IT will be mobilized to compile global databases for design, trial manufacture and testing, production technology, customer-related matters and other strategic needs. |
To promptly meet the technical needs of customers on the spot, NTN owns technical bases in North America (Detroit and Chicago) and Europe (Erkrath in Germany and Le Mans in France), where it has worked to strengthen on-site testing equipment and technical personnel. However, to meet the strict technical requirements of automobiles, general machinery related products and on other fronts, NTN will restructure its European technical bases in fiscal 2005, and establish a European Technology Center in Erkrath, Germany. In fiscal 2006, we plan to open the bearing-related Changzhou Technology Center in the Changzhou region in China, as well as a second China-based technology center designed to handle constant-velocity joints, hub bearings and other automobile components. NTN's quadrilateral global R&D system, including China, will be completed by the end of fiscal 2006.
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