History
1916~
| Nov 1916 | NSK Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) is established as Japan's first bearing manufacturer. |
| Mar 1935 | Tamagawa Plant (Tokyo, Japan) is established and starts operations as a ball bearing manufacturer. |
| Nov 1937 | Fujisawa Plant (Kanagawa, Japan) is established. |
| Nov 1953 | Nishi Nippon Seiko (Shiga, Japan - now Otsu Plant,) is established. |
1960~
| Jun 1960 | Kita Nippon Seiko (Gunma, Japan) is established and starts operations as an automotive steering dedicated plant. |
| Dec 1962 | JAMCO Corporation (Japan-American-Company, New Jersey, USA) is established. |
| Jan 1963 | NSK Torrington Co., Ltd. (Gunma, Japan) is established as a joint venture with Torrington Co., Ltd. (U.S.A.) and Tokyo Bearing Co., Ltd. (Japan). |
| Oct 1963 | NSK Deutschland GMBH (Düsseldorf, Germany) is established. |
| Aug 1964 | NSK-Warner K. K. (Shizuoka, Japan) is established as a joint venture with BorgWarner Inc (U.S.A.). |
| May 1966 | Nishi Nippon Seiko (Shiga, Japan) is merged with NSK Ltd. and becomes Otsu Plant. |
| Nov 1967 | Kita Nippon Seiko (Gunma, Japan) is merged with NSK Ltd. and becomes Maebashi Plant. |
| Mar 1969 | Shin Nippon Kokyu Co., Ltd. (Kanagawa, Japan) is established as a joint venture with Amatsuji Steel Ball Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Japan). |
| Sep 1969 | Branch plant of Otsu Plant (Shiga, Japan) is split off and becomes Ishibe Plant (Shiga, japan). |
1970~
| Dec 1970 | NSK Brazil Ltda. (Sao Paulo, Brazil) is established. |
| Mar 1973 | Hoover NSK Bearings Co., Inc. (Michigan, USA) is established as a joint venture with Hoover Ball and Bearing Company (U.S.A.). |
| Apr 1974 | NSK Bearings Europe Ltd. (London, UK) is established. |
| Jun 1975 | Saitama Plant (Saitama, Japan) is established and starts operations as a roller bearing plant. |
| Nov 1975 | NSK Singapore (Private) Ltd. (Singapore) is established as a joint venture with SM Mechanical (S) Pte Ltd (Singapore). |
| Nov 1977 | NSK Canada Inc. (Toronto, Canada) is established. |
1980~
| Aug 1984 | Fukushima Plant (Fukushima, Japan) is established and starts operations as a miniature bearings plant. |
| May 1985 | Hoover NSK Bearings Co., Inc. (Michigan, USA) and JAMCO Corporation (U.S.A.) merged into NSK Corporation (Michigan, USA). |
| Jul 1987 | NSK-AKS Precision Ball Company (Iowa, USA) is established as a joint venture with Amatsuji Steel Ball Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Japan). |
| Aug 1987 | NSK Bearings (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (Bangkok, Thailand) is established as a joint venture with Siam Motors Co., Ltd. (Thailand). |
| Sep 1987 | Korea Precision Co., Ltd. (Changwon, South Korea) is established as a joint venture with Marubeni Corporation (Japan) and Korea General Machinery Co., Ltd. (South Korea). |
| Jun 1988 | Seatbelt division is transferred from NSK-Warner K.K. and launched as Kirihara Plant (Kanagawa, Japan). |
| Feb 1989 | NSK-AKS Precision Ball Europe Ltd. (Durham, UK) is established as a joint venture with Amatsuji Steel Ball Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Japan). |
| Oct 1989 | Taiwan NSK Precision Co., Ltd. (Taipei, Taiwan) is established as a joint venture with Yung Ho Shun Co., Ltd. (Taiwan). |
1990~
| Mar 1990 | NSK acquires full ownership of UPI (Nottingham, U.K.). |
| Apr 1990 | NSK Rodamientos Mexicana, S.A. De C.V. (Mexico City, Mexico) is established. |
| Dec 1992 | NSK Iberica S.A. (Barcelona, Spain) is established as a joint venture with Permarin S.A. (Spain). |
| Jul 1993 | NSK Bearings (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is established. |
| Apr 1994 | PT. NSK Bearings Manufacturing Indonesia (Bekasi, Indonesia) is established. |
| Jul 1995 | Kunshan NSK Hongshan Co., Ltd. (Kunshan, China) is established as a joint venture with Guizhou Hongshan Bearing Corp. (China) and Nichimen Corporation (Japan). |
| Jan 1998 | NSK acquires a 70% stake in FLT Iskra S.A., a state-owned company in Poland, through NSK-RHP Europe Ltd. (UK). |
| Jun 1999 | NSK Steering Systems Europe Ltd. (Durham, UK) is established. |
| Aug 1999 | NSK’s logistics division is spun off as NSK Logistics Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) |
| Dec 1999 | NSK Sales Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) is established. |
2000~
| Feb 2001 | NSK’s electric power steering division is spun off as NSK Steering Systems Co., Ltd. (Gunma, Japan). |
| Jul 2001 | Fukushima Plant is spun off as NSK Fukushima Co., Ltd. (Fukushima, Japan) |
| Mar 2002 | NSK Bearings Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd. is established. |
| Sep 2002 | NSK Steering Systems Dongguan Co., Ltd. (Guangdong, China) is established as a steering parts manufacturer. |
| Sep 2002 | Suzhou NSK Bearings Co., Ltd. (Jiangsu, China) is established as a joint venture with Timken Company (U.S.A.) as a tapered roller bearing manufacturer. |
| Oct 2002 | NSK’s precision products division spun off as NSK Precision Co., Ltd. (Gunma, Japan). |
| Nov 2002 | Zhangjiagang NSK Precision Machinery Co., Ltd. (Jiangsu, China) is established as manufacturer and marketer of grinding and heat treatment of industrial machinery bearings and automotive bearings. |
| Feb 2003 | NSK (China) Investment Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China) is established. |
| Apr 2003 | NSK Ltd. sells off its seat belt and CVJ operations. |
| Jul 2003 | NSK Ltd. acquires full ownership of NSK Torrington Co., Ltd. (Gunma, Japan). The name is changed to NSK Needle Bearing Ltd. |
| Dec 2003 | NSK China Technology Center (Kunshan, China) is opened. |
| Apr 2004 | NSK Ltd. changes operations to the "company with committees" system. |
| Apr 2004 | Changshu NSK Needle Bearing Co., Ltd. (Changshu, China) is established. |
| Apr 2005 | NSK-Warner (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China) is established. |
| Mar 2006 | NSK Ltd. acquires full ownership of Amatsuji Steel Ball Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan). |
| Jul 2007 | Tapered roller bearing manufacturer Suzhou NSK Bearings Co., Ltd. (Jiangsu, China) is made a wholly owned subsidiary. |
| Jan 2008 | NSK (China) Research and Development Co., Ltd. (Kunshan, China) is established. |
| Jan 2008 | NSK-Yagi Precision Forging (Zhangjiagang) Co., Ltd. (Zhangjiagang, China) is established. |
| Feb 2008 | Fujisawa Plant Kirihara Branch (Kanagawa, Japan) is completed as a plant producing roller bearings for industrial machinery bearings. |
| Feb 2008 | NSK-ABC Bearings Ltd. (Tamil Nadu, India) starts operations. |
| Feb 2008 | NSK Brasil Ltda. Technology Center (Suzano, Brazil) is opened. |
| Mar 2008 | NSK-Wanda Electric Power Assisted Steering Systems Co., Ltd. (Hangzhou、China), a joint venture with Zhejiang Wanda Steering Gear Co., Ltd. (China) is established as manufacturer and marketer of automotive products. |
| May 2008 | Electric power steering (EPS) plant is opened in Bawal, Haryana, India through Rane NSK Steering Systems (Chennai, India), a joint venture between Rane Group and NSK Ltd. |
| May 2008 | Wholly owned subsidiary NSK Friendly Service (Tokyo, Japan) receives official certification as a special subsidiary under Japan’s Employment Promotion Act for People with Disabilities. |
| Aug 2009 | NSK Sales Co., Ltd. is integrated into NSK Ltd.. |
| Aug 2009 | Shenyang NSK Precision Co., Ltd. (Shenyang, China) is established as a manufacturer and marketer of precision machinery and parts. |
| Oct 2009 | NSK (China) Research and Development Co., Ltd. opens new facility in Kunshan, China. NSK (China) Investment Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China) is relocated to the site. |
| Mar 2010 | NSK Peru S.A.C. (Lima, Peru) is established as a marketer of industrial machinery bearings. |
1916: Japan's First Bearing Manufacturer
Bearings are one of the staples of industry. The origins of the Japanese bearing industry, which produced 3,190 million bearings in 2006, can be traced back to the completion of the first prototype by Nippon Seiko Limited Partnership Company in 1915. Full-scale production of the bearings needed to drive the development of the Japanese machinery industry commenced with the establishment of NSK Ltd. The photograph shows a drawing from the time of NSK's earliest production, the starting point on the path that brought NSK to its present stage of development.
1918: The Year We Took to the Air
NSK has a long history of involvement in aviation. As early as 1918 we were supplying airframe bearings. In 1931 we became the first Japanese manufacturer of bearings for aircraft engines, and in 1945 we produced the first jet engine bearings to be made in Japan. By 1985 NSK was able to participate in a five-nation project, which produced products for the V2500 engine with manufacturers from the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany and Italy.
Today bearings, ball screws and linear guides manufactured by NSK look down on Earth from satellites and the International Space Station.
1948: Overseas Expansion
Wherever there are machines, there are bearings. Bearings based on common international standards are borderless products that can be used in machinery anywhere in the world. NSK began to export bearings in 1948, when Japan was still in the midst of postwar construction. Exporting would eventually lead to the establishment of sales companies and production operations outside Japan. NSK's second overseas plant, in Suzano, Brazil, established in 1972, has contributed to Brazil's industrial development as part of the local community for 35 years. Today NSK has 34 overseas plants in 12 countries.
From 1975 to the Present: Contributing to the Environment
NSK products help reduce energy loss. We regard environmental management as a key priority, and we have been working in this field since the establishment of our Environment Control Department in 1975. Our environmental efforts include the development of environment-friendly products, measures to combat global warming, zero-emission programs, distribution-related measures, and green procurement activities. We also provide environmental education to raise the environmental awareness of all employees. The NSK Group recognizes its responsibility to protect the environment.