Japanese manufacturers of bearings and linear motion guides have been strengthening their production in the overseas market, particularly in China and India. Although the geopolitical risk of China is still a concern, hopes are high for the expansion of domestic demand, including semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Also, they have ventured into the establishment of plants in India, seeing it as a new investment destination. 

New THK Manufacturing Plant in India

Beginning in 2021, THK Co., Ltd. started bolstering its production system in response to higher demand for linear motion (LM) guides and ball screws in Japan and abroad. Specifically in Japan, the company extended the production line at THK Niigata Co., Ltd., which produces ball splines. The expansion was completed in Nov. 2022.

Overseas, the company has a presence in the Indian market. THK commenced operations of a new plant in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh in Nov. 2021. In China, THK completed in June 2022 the construction of a new factory building at THK MANUFACTURING OF CHINA (CHANGZHOU) CO., LTD. (Jiangsu province), which produces actuator units. Additionally, the construction of a new factory building of THK MANUFACTURING OF CHINA (LIAONING) CO., LTD. (Liaoning province), which produces LM guides, was completed in Dec. 2022.  

Akihiro Teramachi, President and Chief Executive Officer of THK, said, “This year, I visited three exhibitions of machine tools: IMTEX in India in January, TIMTOS in Taiwan in March, and CIMT in China in April. Exhibitions in India and China were bustled with visitors, and I really felt the momentum of the manufacturing industry. Going forward, I will consider production in India of products destined for countries in Southeast Asia and Europe, while focusing on domestic demand in China.” 

THK will hold a formal opening ceremony for the Indian plant this November.

Nippon Thomson Expands Production in China

Mainly, Nippon Thompson Co., Ltd. manufactures its products at Gifu Factory Complex and Kamakura Factory in Japan. Meanwhile, Toki Mechatronics Center in Gifu Prefecture develops and manufactures mechatronics products. Additionally, it procures materials and components for mechatronics products. Overseas, the company manufactures its products at IKO THOMPSON VIETNAM CO., LTD. in Hanoi, Vietnam, and at UBC (Suzhou) Bearing Co., Ltd., its group company in China.  

Shigeki Miyachi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nippon Thompson, said, “We will boost production capacities of our strategic products, including the LWL compact LM guides, cam followers, cross roller bearings, and LRX roller-type linear motion guides, which are our company’s forte. Also, we will be displaying our expertise in the global market through exhibitions.”

Recently, Chinese companies are advancing the domestic production of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Against this backdrop, Nippon Thompson puts in place a manufacturing system for products for the Chinese market at UBC. Presently, UBC is producing IKO-brand needle bearings. The company is considering expanding production items at UBC.

Further, the company’s Vietnam plant has No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 factories. It also has in place an integrated production system for LM guides. At present, it produces miniature-type LM guides in mass volume. Also, it manufactures cross roller bearings used in the transfer section of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and in industrial robots. However, production at the three factories is not enough to meet increasing demand. So, the company started considering building a new plant. 

Significant Boost in R&D Capabilities

In 2019, NSK Ltd. established and started operations of a plant to produce electric power steering (EPS) systems in Ahmedabad City, Gujarat State in northwestern India. This was done through a joint venture company with the Rane Group in India, Rane NSK Steering Systems Pvt. Ltd. (RNSS), which is based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu State.

Furthermore, NSK plans to expand its buildings at NSK China’s headquarters and NSK China R&D Center, its research and development base, in Kunshan City, China. This aims to significantly strengthen functions of its China headquarters and R&D capabilities.

Yu Guoping, NSK China President & Chief Executive Officer, said, “In the Chinese market, NSK has been developing technologies and products that meet the needs of customers at the same speed, method, and cost in China. With this expansion, NSK will further advance research and development of cutting-edge technologies in the fields of industrial machinery, and bearings and steering wheels for automobiles. We will focus on the development of new technologies and products relating to electrification, intelligent and autonomous driving automobiles, computerized numerical control (CNC) machine tools, high-speed railways, wind-power generation, robots, and medical care.” Expansion is expected to be completed in Aug. 2024.