Over the last few years, NTN Europe has made significant investments, with more to follow, in order to modernise its Italian production site based near Turin. The work already carried out has enabled us to align the manufacturing processes and adopt the same quality standards as those applied by NTN in Japan. By adopting the architecture of the bearings with the NTN W33 design, the leader in precision mechanics now applies the NTN brand to the vast majority of its production and thus benefit from its recognition in the global market while optimising the performance of its parts.
Since 2017, the Italian production site, which specialises in the manufacture of spherical roller bearings, has seen continuous improvements, thanks in particular to the support of the parent company located in Japan. A delegation of three people supported the adaptation of the manufacturing processes and the training of the teams in order to bring about an improvement in production quality at the Italian production site, in line with the high standards of Japan. As a result of this work, the SNR brand was changed to NTN.
“Indeed, in order to market a product (previously SNR) under the NTN brand, its design must be consistent with that of Japan. Thanks to the substantial investments made, both in the production tool and in the training of the teams, we are pleased to have reached the required production standards: the NTN W33 premium design is now in force at the Italian production site. In practical terms, this means that we are now applying the NTN brand on the products we manufacture in Italy,” explains Pierre Hingrez, Product Marketing Manager.
In a competitive market, the NTN W33 premium design products offer clear competitive advantages over the former spherical roller bearings design. The 20% faster speed and 24% greater load capacity result in a doubling in the service life. Compared to the premium designs of its main competitors, the NTN W33 premium design has been considerably extended across the main series and symbols of the market and has on average the highest load capacities, a key factor in spherical roller bearings. This performance reflects both the quality of the materials used and also the bearing design. Particular attention has been paid to the cage, which remains perfectly guided and centred on the rollers at all times.
By thus eliminating the guide ring, the bearing offers many advantages:
- Reduced friction because fewer components are in contact,
- More free volume inside the bearing for improved lubrication,
- More space available to maximise the size of rollers, which can thus bear greater loads.
Applications for spherical roller bearings are very demanding in terms of pollution, shock, combined axial and radial loads, temperature, misalignment, etc. Typical applications include mining, quarrying and cement works, industrial transmissions, the steel industry and cardboard factories. In addition to these technical characteristics, the changeover to the globally recognised NTN brand has enabled the Italian production site to benefit from a solid reputation.
“The Italian spherical roller bearing production site is now focused on supplying the world, excluding the Asian market dedicated to local Japanese plants. With this rebranding, NTN Europe is able to look to new markets and has consolidated its presence in existing ones.” says Pierre Hingrez.
For more information, visit the NTN website.
