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Financial Information:
Annual Report 2005
Capitalizing
on Our
Roller Bearings Expertise
| Roller bearings
take optimal advantage of NSK’s comprehensive technological
capabilities. Demand for these products is growing, especially
in overseas markets. As a driver of future growth, NSK
is stepping up initiatives particularly in the general
machinery sector and the aftermarket. |
What are
Roller Bearings?
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| Ball Bearings |
Roller Bearings |
“Roller bearings” refers to bearings
that utilize rollers as rolling elements. The key difference between
“roller bearings” and “ball bearings”
is how the load is supported. Ball bearings—where balls
act as rolling elements— are built for outstanding speed
and quiet operation and are therefore often found in home appliances.
These bearings support the load at a single point, whereas roller
bearings support the load along a linear axis, enabling them to
withstand far greater loads. For this reason, roller bearings
are used in steel mills, construction equipment, machine tools
and other heavy industrial applications.
Leveraging
NSK’s Comprehensive Capabilities
| Roller Bearing Production
Sites |
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| Japan |
NSK will invest a total
of more than ¥5.0 billion in the two years up to March
2006 to augment production facilities of the Fujisawa
Plant, the main NSK production site for roller bearings. |
| Europe |
NSK is currently boosting production
capacity at its UK-based Newark Plant, a global production
site for precision bearings. |
Today, roller bearings account for around 30% of
NSK’s Industrial Machinery Bearings Business. Compared to
standard ball bearings, which are fast becoming commodities, roller
bearings are technology-intensive products that take full advantage
of NSK’s sophisticated capabilities in product development,
applied technology and material engineering. In addition, roller
bearings provide a chance for NSK to bring its long-refined expertise
in manufacturing technology to bear in responding to high-mix,
low-volume production requirements. Complementing these technological
strengths are a rich product lineup and comprehensive solutions
proposal capabilities — two reasons that NSK already maintains
a powerful presence in the Japanese market. As demand for new
infrastructure continues to climb in China and other markets,
NSK is focusing on winning original component orders and capturing
related repair and maintenance contracts in overseas markets where
increased demand is expected. NSK will also increase production
capacity to match the requirements of the market.
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