Tokyo, Japan, January 6, 2011 — NSK Ltd. (NSK; Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan; President and CEO: Norio Otsuka) today announced that the Maebashi Precision Machinery & Parts Plant (hereinafter NPJ Maebashi) of NSK Precision Co., Ltd., which is located in the city of Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, will be used as a production and technology development base for the steering business, including electric assisted power steering (EPS).
As already announced in January 2010, ball screw production will be transferred away from NPJ Maebashi. The company also today announced the decision to relocate its technology center for precision machinery products (linear products) from Maebashi to Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, which is the core base for the R&D division and the key technologies underlying all of NSK's products.
1. Strengthening the Industrial Machinery Business (Precision Machinery and Parts) — Strengthening Product Development Capabilities
Accompanying the transfer of ball screw production to Kyushu, Japan and the city of Shenyang, China, NSK will relocate its technology base for precision machinery and parts to the city of Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, where the company has a concentration of technology bases for products including bearings, mechatronics products, and systems products.
This move is one measure to increase the profitability of the precision machinery and parts segment of NSK's industrial machinery business.
This will enable the company to maximize its capabilities, such as by integrating other NSK technologies with technology for precision machinery and parts such as linear products. In this way, NSK will improve its technology services and move forward with the development and design of products that make then most of the latest technological innovations and products that bring together disparate technologies.
2. Strengthening the Steering Business
(1) Strengthening Steering Technology Development Capabilities
NSK will consolidate its two steering technology development bases in Japan, both of which are located in Maebashi, into one site in the Toriba area of Maebashi. This will strengthen cooperation among the mechanics, electric/electronics, and software development departments and will accelerate technology development in NSK's steering business.
(2) Upgrading Production in the Steering Business
NSK will create an efficient, labor-saving, automated production line at NPJ Maebashi, which will pursue advanced manufacturing as the main plant of the company's globally expanding steering production sites. The more flexible production system will enable the company's three steering production sites in Japan to respond rapidly to increasing global demand for EPS in the future.
NSK hopes to implement the above plans at the end of fiscal 2011 with the aim of driving growth and increasing the profitability of its steering and industrial machinery (precision machinery and parts) businesses.
Additional Information
Main bases for NSK's ball screw business
Production sites NSK Precision Co., Ltd., Maebashi Precision Machinery & Parts Plant (Toriba-machi, Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, Japan)
NSK Kyushu Co., Ltd. (Ukiha City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan)
Shenyang NSK Precision Co., Ltd. (Shenyang City, Liaoning, China)
NSK Precision America, Inc. (Franklin, Indiana, USA)
Technology bases NSK Precision Co., Ltd., Precision Machinery Technology Center (Toriba-machi, Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, Japan)
NSK also conducts ball screw technology development in Europe, the US, and China.
Main bases in Japan for NSK's steering business
Production sites NSK Steering Systems Co., Ltd., Soja Plant (Soja-machi, Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture)
NSK Steering Systems Co., Ltd., Akagi Plant (Iidoimachi, Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture)
Technology bases NSK Ltd., Steering Technology Center (Soja-machi, Maebashi City and Toriba-machi, Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture)
NSK also conducts steering technology development in Europe and the US.
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