History
1916~
| Nov 1916 | NSK Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) is established as Japan's first bearing manufacturer. |
| Mar 1934 | 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. |
| Nov 1959 | Ishibe Plant (Shiga, Japan) is established as a branch plant of Nishi Nippon Seiko. |
1960~
| Jun 1960 | Kita Nippon Seiko (Gunma, Japan) is established and starts operations as an automotive steering dedicated plant. |
| Sep 1961 | Technical Center is established in Fujisawa 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.). |
1970~
| Dec 1970 | NSK Brazil Ltda. (Sao Paulo, Brazil) is established. |
| 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. |
1980~
| Aug 1984 | Fukushima Plant (Fukushima, Japan) is established and starts operations as a miniature bearings plant. |
| 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). |
| Jan 1988 | Seatbelt division is transferred from NSK-Warner K.K. and launched as Kirihara Plant (Kanagawa, Japan). |
| Dec 1988 | Nissei Urawa Co., Ltd. (Saitama, Japan - now NSK machinery Co., Ltd.) is established as a manufacturer and marketer of machine tools. |
1990~
| Mar 1990 | NSK acquires full ownership of UPI (Nottingham, U.K.). |
| Jun 1990 | NSK Kyushu Co., Ltd. (Fukuoka, Japan) is established as a manufacturer of automotive products. |
| 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). |
| Jun 1997 | Rane NSK Steering Systems is established in Chennai, India and starts operation as a manufacturing company of steering products as a joint venture with Rane Ltd. |
| Jan 1998 | NSK acquires a 70% stake in FLT Iskra S.A., a state-owned company in Poland, through NSK-RHP Europe Ltd. (UK). |
| Jul 1999 | Tamagawa Plant is closed. |
| 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~
| Apr 2001 | NSK Network and Systems Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) is established |
| Jul 2001 | Fukushima Plant is spun off as NSK Fukushima Co., Ltd. (Fukushima, Japan) |
| Mar 2002 | NSK Bearings Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd. is established. |
| Oct 2002 | NSK's precision products division spun off as NSK Precision Co., Ltd. (Gunma, Japan). |
| Apr 2003 | NSK Ltd. sells off its seat belt operations. |
| Apr 2003 | NSK Ltd. sells off its 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. |
| Mar 2006 | NSK Ltd. acquires full ownership of Amatsuji Steel Ball Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan). |
| Jan 2008 | NSK (China) Research and Development Co., Ltd. (Kunshan, China) is established. |
| Feb 2008 | Fujisawa Plant Kirihara Branch (Kanagawa, Japan) is completed as a plant producing roller bearings for industrial machinery bearings. |
| May 2008 | A 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. |
2010~
| Jul 2010 | NSK Fukushima is integrated into NSK Ltd. |
| Aug 2010 | NSK (China) Research and Development Co., Ltd. opens new facility in Kunshan, China. |
| Sep 2010 | ADTech Corporation, a joint venture with Toshiba Corporation is established in Tokyo as a research and development company of automotive products. |
| Nov 2010 | NSK acquires majority Shareholding in Rane NSK Steering Systems (Chennai, India), a steering manufacturing company. |
| Jul 2011 | Hefei NSK (Hefei, China) is established as a manufacturing company of industrial machinery bearings and automotive bearings. |
| Jul 2011 | Systemized Products Business Department is spun off as NSK Technology Co., Ltd. in Tokyo. |
| Jan 2012 | NSK Ltd. increases the capital stake in NSK-ABC Bearings Limited(Chennai, India) to become a specified subsidiary. |
| July 2012 | A wholly owned subsidiary, NSK Precision Co., Ltd. is integrated into NSK Ltd. |
| Sep 2012 | NSK Ltd. hands out the guidebook about a Violation of the Antimonopoly Act to all executive officers and employees. |
| Sep 2012 | NSK Ltd. acquires a 10% stake in Gongzhuling Bearing Co., Ltd., a bearing manufacturer in Gongzhuling City, Jilin Province, China. |
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.