Corporate News
08/07/2008
NSK Holds Ground-Breaking Ceremony for Independent Research and Development Body in China
NSK Ltd. (NSK; Headquarter: Tokyo, Japan; President and CEO: Seiichi Asaka) celebrated the start of construction of NSK (China) Research and Development Co., Ltd. (Kunshan City, Suzhou Province; hereinafter NSK China R&D) with a ground-breaking ceremony, held on July 8, 2008. Attendees included President Asaka, Vice-President Hisashi Machida, President and CEO of NSK China Shinichiro Takahashi, and numerous local officials and dignitaries. The facility is scheduled for completion during the summer of 2009.
NSK, a leading bearing manufacturer in Japan, seeks to maintain its position as the top bearing manufacturer in the rapidly-developing Chinese market, and to develop a strong overall framework which combines production, sales and technology. The company aims to accelerate its business in China, with plans to expand its Chinese business scale to 100 billion yen in 2010.
The current China Technology Division was originally developed in December 2003, serving as a technology base for NSK’s Kunshan plant, a critical production arm of their Chinese operations. The Division currently employs 65 staff, mainly providing technical support such as testing and evaluating ball bearing products.
Due to the rapid growth of the Chinese market, the facility will be relocated to NSK China R&D, and will expand the scope of its duties to provide basic research and technical support for NSK’s all product types (bearings, automotive components, linear motion products). The center will also respond to the specific needs of the Chinese market. Accordingly, the move to establish NSK China R&D as an independent body will be accompanied by an increase in employee numbers, reaching 300 staff in 2011.
The profile of the center is as follows:
| Company Name | NSK (CHINA) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD |
| President and CEO | Shinichiro Takahashi |
| Location | HUAQIAO INTERNATIONAL SERVICE BUSINESS PARK KUNSHAN CITY JIANGSU PROVINCE |
| Land Area | approx. 30,000㎡ |
| Building Area | - Office building: approx. 10,000㎡ (7 floors) - Laboratory building: approx. 6,000㎡ (2 floors) |
| Capital | 20 million dollars (approx. 2.2 billion Yen) |
| Investment | 4.4 billion Yen (to 2011) |
| Completion | Summer, 2009 |
| Employees | 300 (in 2011) |
| Products | Bearings, Precision Machinery Products, Automotive Parts, Mechatronic Products (all NSK products) |
| Activities | - Basic research, applied research, development and design, investigative analysis - Production engineering R&D - Providing technical support to users |
NSK’s Involvement in the Chinese Market
Since the 1960s, NSK has provided technical instruction to Chinese bearing manufacturers, and in 1995 established Kunshan NSK Co., Ltd in the suburbs of Shanghai, manufacturing ball bearings for use in electrical products. The company currently opens 9 plants in China, manufacturing a wide and varied product lineup that includes bearings and automotive components. NSK also has 10 sales branches across China and Hong Kong, and holds the No.1 share of the Chinese market among all bearing manufacturers.