Press Release

Press Release

December 3, 2014

NSK Ltd.
Public Relations Department

NSK Holds Opening Ceremony at Production Company in Mexico

Operations Started as the First Japanese Bearings Manufacturer in an Up-and-Coming Area with Burgeoning Automobile Demand

低トルクタペットローラ

NSK Ltd. (NSK; Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan; President and CEO: Norio Otsuka) today announced that on December 9, 2014 it held the opening ceremony to mark the successful introduction of a production site in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. It is the first production site for a Japanese bearings manufacturer in that country.

The plant started production in April 2014 and began mass production in July. It is supplying high-quality bearings in a timely manner to automakers and automotive parts manufacturers with production sites in Mexico. The ceremony was a grand event attended by around 100 people from in and outside the Company, including many dignitaries from the Mexican government, NSK President Norio Otsuka and Bernard Lindsay, senior vice president and head of all American operations. President Otsuka commented at the ceremony: “In order to ensure NSK's growth in the North American market, which is continuing to expand, we use the latest equipment and technology at the Mexican plant and will increase quality, cost competitiveness, delivery time, and safety under a policy of localization.”

Background

The automobile market is continuing to grow in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement, and Japanese and Western automakers are continuing to expand production in Mexico. NSK has established this production company in Mexico to expand its operations in central Mexico, an area that has a well-developed automobile industry. By supplying automotive bearings and other products with excellent quality to the North American market, including Mexico, the plant, together with NSK's existing plants in the U.S., will further expand the company's North American automotive business. Moreover, Mexico has signed customs agreements with many countries, including European countries and South Korea. Taking advantage of this situation, NSK will establish a structure that is resilient to foreign exchange fluctuations by providing a global supply from the Mexican plant in the future.

Basic concept of the new plant

  • Manufacture of quality products through the installation of cutting-edge production automation lines
  • Improved cost competitiveness (utilization of preferential duty treatment in the NAFTA region and advantageous labor costs)

Going forward, the company will pursue local procurement of materials and parts.

Company overview

Company name NSK Bearings Manufacturing Mexico S.A. de C.V.
Location Guanajuato, Mexico
Representative Steven A. Beckman, NSK Corporation President
Date of establishment April 2013
Business areas Manufacture and sales of automobile bearings
Capital Equivalent USD 40 million
Investment breakdown 100% NSK Ltd.
Size of plant Site area of approximately 100,000 ㎡ and building floor space of approximately 13,000 ㎡ planned at the initial stage
Commencement of operations Spring 2014
Investment amount Equivalent USD 60 million
NSK Bearings Manufacturing, Mexico S.A. de C.V.

History of NSK in the Americas

  • 1962
    JAMCO Corporation (now NSK Corporation) established as a sales company in the U.S. Subsequently, sales sites opened at 21 locations in the Americas.
  • 1970
    Suzano Plant established on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • 1973
    A manufacturing and sales company established through a joint venture with an American company in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Since then, production sites established at 10 locations in the U.S.
  • Sales forecast in the Americas for the fiscal year ending March 2015: 156 billion yen