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Financial Information:
Annual Report 2005
Gearing
up Our Aftermarket Business
| Aftermarket (repair
and maintenance) demand is projected to grow in China
and other overseas markets. Here, NSK will take advantage
of its experience amassed in the original component business
both at home and abroad to establish a framework for pursuing
global initiatives and securing demand. |
Establishing
the Aftermarket Business Division-Headquarters
Global aftermarket demand is estimated at ¥640
billion, a figure that is forecast to rise by about 2% annually.
By doing business with trusted national-level distributors in
the regions where it operates, NSK has already staked out a position
unmatched by its domestic peers. In July 2004, NSK set up the
Aftermarket Business Division-Headquarters in a move to reinforce
its regional business framework and develop business initiatives
more rapidly. In a push to heighten recognition of its brand overseas,
NSK is also taking steps to enhance technical training for sales
agents and end-users, while ensuring a stable supply of products,
offering optimal technology, and enhancing product lineups and
delivery performance.
Attracting
Customers With In-depth Support Services
| Aftermarket Demand
by Region |
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NSK actively conducts technical training for sales
agents and end-users as part of its technology support programs
offered to customers. In 2004, approximately 29,000 people took
part in NSK’s aftermarket training seminars worldwide. Other
efforts include those at U.S.-based NSK Corporation, where NSK
established the Field Service Group. Among other tasks, this team
of NSK personnel visits customers to provide bearing maintenance
services and train customers’ technical staff onsite. This
interaction promotes understanding of NSK’s products and
their added value. In France, for example, local customers called
on NSK to hold conferences where participants could trade notes
on technology and receive technical training. These conferences
ultimately led to more product orders.
 Meanwhile
in Brazil, NSK joined the Brazilian Pulp and Paper Technical Association
(ABTCP) to aggressively develop its brand in a bid to gain access
to its greatest target—the paper industry. As a result,
a brand recognition survey conducted by NEI-Brazil, an industrial
machinery newsletter, found that NSK improved its ranking to second
place in the bearings industry in terms of brand image.
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