A DV ER TIS E ME N T

Making the World Run Smoothly
NTN’s bearings are found in everything from space rockets to artificial hearts. As the company
marks its first century in business, it is establishing new growth drivers for its next 100 years.

People are living longer all the time.
For businesses, though, it’s the opposite story. From 50 years in the1920s, the average lifespan of S&P
500 companies has plunged to just
15 today. So it’s all the more special for acompany to reach the 100-year milestone
as Osaka-based bearing manufacturer NTN
Corporation will do in 2018.
   The secret to NTN’s longevity? Productsthat are as ubiquitous as they are indispensable. “Bearings play an essential rolein industrialised society,” explains NTN
president Hiroshi Ohkubo “They reduce
friction, improve energy efficiency andmake things work smoothly.” Consistingof just four components, bearings are superficially simple; precision, however, iscrucial for optimum performance.
  NTN’s bearings have been proving
their worth in the toughest environments
for decades. When the first Japanese-madeplane flew from Tokyo to London in 1937,
its engines contained NTN bearings. The
same is true of the first bullet train in
1964. NTN is now the sole Japanese manufacturer certified to supply bearings tothe world’s big four jet-engine makers. It
also provides the bearings for the Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency’s launchvehicles and asteroid explorers.

NTN is global No. 1 for hub bearings (top left) andNo. 2 for driveshafts (bottom right) for automobiles.
Source: NTN Corporation

Hiroshi Ohkubo President, NTN Corporation

Bearings play anessential role inindustrialised society.
They reduce friction,
improve energy
efficiency and makethings worksmoothly.

Gasoline cars and EVs
NTN actually generates the bulk of its
business in more down-to-earth settings.
Seventy percent of the firm’s $6.1 billion(¥683.3 billion) revenues come from theautomobile business, with just two products—hub bearings and driveshafts—accounting for 80% of sales to the sector. In
hub bearings (which enable the wheels torotate), NTN is the overwhelming global
market leader; in driveshafts (which transmit torque to the wheels) it is global No.
2. Its customers include all the global
carmakers.
  Despite this dominance, NTN is not
resting on its laurels. “We’ve been making bearings for 100 years, and driveshaftsfor 50. Will these products alone sustain
us for another century?” asks Ohkubo,
rhetorically. “No, we need to move into
new fields.” That’s the thinking that inspired him to launch NTN 100—his plan
to transform the company for the next
100 years—two years ago.
   NTN’s core automobile business stands
first in line for a makeover. With governments everywhere announcing bans ondiesel and gasoline vehicles, the switch
to electric vehicles (EVs) is gathering momentum. With EVs having fewer moving
parts than traditional gasoline vehicles, isNTN’s core business under threat? Hardly.
The hub bearings and driveshafts where
NTN is world leader (and which it is already supplying to the top EV brands) areessential components for EVs. In addition, NTN is treating electrification as anopportunity to develop new parts such as

electromechanical brakes or in-wheel motors, drive motors that sit within the tyrehub.
   “These new parts will compensate evenif there is any overall market shrinkage
caused by the spread of EVs,” says Ohkubobullishly. “Besides, regardless of type, theabsolute number of vehicles is predicted torise. NTN comes off a winner either way.”

Four areas of sustainable growth
But EVs represent just one of four new
growth areas that NTN 100 is targeting, theothers being renewable energy, robotics,and services and solutions. In the energy

field, NTN already produces 2.5-meterwide bearings for the main shafts of windturbines, both on- and offshore; now it isdeveloping innovative complete products
such as micro-hydro turbines (to generate electricity in off-the-grid places) andhybrid street lights (powered by solar andwind).
  If the changeover to clean energy is
one trend of our time, automation issurely another. Here, NTN has adapted
its driveshaft know-how to create “highspeed parallel link mechanisms.” These
enable robot arms to manipulate objects
with the agility of the human wrist. The
result? Complex, multi-angle processes
like welding and final product inspection
can be successfully automated.
   Infrastructure monitoring and maintenance is also increasingly being taken outof human hands. As part of its push into
the solutions business, NTN has created acondition monitoring system for bearingsin wind turbines. The system is currently monitoring 70 wind turbines around
Japan, collecting and analysing sound andvibration data and extending turbine lifecycles via predictive maintenance.
   In conjunction with Osaka University,
NTN has started research into using AI topredict the lifespan of bearings based on
their state of damage and deterioration.
“Collaborating with academia is anotherkey to growth,” Ohkubo notes.

Driving up profits
In parallel with this push into new areas, NTN is also aiming to boost the margins of its existing businesses. Rethinking
tried-and-trusted manufacturing processes
is one way to increase profitability. “Theway we make driveshafts hasn’t changed
much since the 1960s,” says Ohkubo.
“We’re working on automating more processes and developing standardised parts
which are put together in different combinations to meet different OEMs’ needs.
Production is increasingly modular and,as we make both parts, we, uniquely, canoffer driveshafts and hub bearings as a single module.”   When it comes to profitability, NTN’s
aftermarket segment is already a standout:
accounting for 15% of sales, it generates
a hefty 40% of profits. NTN is building
brand loyalty among end-users by conducting workshops every year on bearing maintenance and repair via its fleetof service cars, and responding to risingdemand with an expanded line-up andshorter delivery times.

Building a global culture

High-speed parallel
link mechanisms give
robots the agility of
the human wrist.

NTN opened its first overseas factory inthe 1960s. The company is now thoroughly global with 72% of sales, 66% ofemployees and 50% of its manufacturingoutside Japan. With such geographicalspread, fostering a coherent culture canbe a challenge. To ensure that everyone
around the world shares the same core values, Ohkubo is promoting NTN’s philosophy of “contributing to society throughnew technologies and new products” andlinking it to concrete actions that accord

This huge bearing isdestined for the main
shaft of a wind turbine.

GLOBAL SALES: ¥683.3 billion

Sales by Region
Asia andOthersJapan21%28%

23%

23%

34%

23%
20%
28%

EuropeEmployees by Region
GLOBAL EMPLOYEES: 24,665 people
Fiscal year ended March 31, 2017with recognised frameworks like the UN
sustainable development goals (SDGs)
and ESG (environment, social and governance) that have global resonance.
   At the practical level, Ohkubo is focusedon making sure that all NTN’s technicalstaff around the world share the famous
Japanese obsession with quality. Annual
Japan-based events like a Global Quality
Circle Convention and Technical Skills
Competition—not to mention lengthy
courses for trainers from abroad—guarantee a consistently high level of skill andknowledge throughout the global network.
   “With NTN 100, we’re aiming not forchange, but for a complete transformation,” Ohkubo sums up. “We’re using ourstrong cash flow and balance sheet to invest in promising new growth areas. By
recombining all our technologies in interesting ways, we can keep growing for thenext 100 years.”

Bearings that perform in the toughest environments
Pinwheel blades
100 m in diameter

NTN’s giant bearings help large-scale wind turbines revolve
more smoothly and efficiently.

High precision at

200˚C

NTN’s bearings are certified by all the big four jet engine
manufactures.

www.ntnglobal.com

Americas

Operational safety at

300 km/h

NTN’s bearings are used in the high-speed trains of 10
countries including France’s TGV and Japan’s bullet train.