NSK breaks ground on new building at Haruna plant

NSK Ltd. (NSK; Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan; President and CEO: Toshihiro Uchiyama) held a groundbreaking ceremony for Building No. 3 at the Haruna plant (Takasaki, Japan) on October 17, 2017. The average car has anywhere from 20 to 140 needle bearings. Due to this relatively high number of bearings per vehicle, the growing Chinese auto market, and automatic transmissions with more gear stages than conventional units, global demand for needle bearings is expected to continue to see strong growth. When completed, Building No. 3 will enable NSK to meet rising demand, and will also bring together several design and manufacturing engineering departments under a single roof. This will help streamline processes, shorten product development time, and create a more efficient work environment for developing new products that answer changes in the automotive market and that fulfill the needs of the future. Groundbreaking Ceremony At the ceremony Mr. Uchiyama expressed his thanks to the people involved, noting that the project has been moving forward quickly in light of the substantial need for expanded capacity. He further discussed how the needle bearing market is changing as vehicle electrification and autonomous driving technology gain momentum, and that there has been a shift to emphasize the conservation of the environment, and safety and ease of use for the customer. The rapidly evolving sector is what called for including new R&D facilities in Building No. 3 in addition to the necessary expansion of manufacturing capacity.