Japan's NTN to Make Ultralge Bearings for Wind Turbines

NTN Corp. will start producing ultralarge bearings for wind turbines, having earmarked about 8 billion yen (US$75 million) to bring a factory online in fiscal 2009 that will specialize in making bearings over 3 metres in diameter.

Construction of the plant in Ishikawa Prefecture is to start this spring. The firm targets about 7 billion yen in sales in fiscal year 2012, mainly to domestic wind turbine manufacturers.

There were about 1,300 wind turbines in Japan as of March, up fivefold from 2000. Demand has been growing sharply for motors as well as bearings used in the towers.

The three major domestic bearing manufacturers are all rushing to boost output, but they mainly produce motor-use bearings that are 3 meters or less in diameter. Foreign firms such as Sweden's SKF Group currently provide the ultralarge bearings used in the towers of Japanese turbines.

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