NSK Ltd. (NSK; Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan; President and CEO: Toshihiro Uchiyama) inaugurated the newly built Cheonan plant (Cheonan City, Korea) on October 20, 2017.

The average car has anywhere from 20 to 140 needle bearings. Due to this relatively high number of bearings per vehicle, the growing Chinese auto market, and automatic transmissions with more gear stages than conventional units, global demand for high-precision needle bearings is expected to continue to see strong growth. The newly built Cheonan plant expands manufacturing capacity through state-of-the-art automated manufacturing facilities capable of meeting increasing demand in the market.


Cheonan plant exterior

Excerpt of Mr. Uchiyama’s speech at the inauguration ceremony

“The Cheonan plant was built with the goal of creating an environmentally friendly and clean plant. The employees each independently contributed to the project to create highly reliable manufacturing facilities that meet the needs of our customers, and that can serve as a model for NSK operations worldwide.”



Mr. Uchiyama speaking at the ceremony
Cheonan plant features

A) High Productivity

Command room to monitor and computer control all manufacturing equipment
State-of-the-art automated facilities and equipment
B) High security
Entrances feature fingerprint controlled locks
C) Environmentally friendly
Solar power and wind power used to power facilities
High productivity reduces overall impact on environment
D) Welcoming and safe environment for employees
Eliminated grinding oil splatter, and realized quiet machine operation
Facilities use natural light extensively, creating a pleasant indoor atmosphere


Clean, automated plant


Monitors in the command room lets employees easily verify the status of each machine