Current corporate figures are from NTN’s corporate data as of March 2026.3

At its simplest, NTN is a company that specializes in making things move smoothly. Its most important product is the bearing, a mechanical component that allows one part of a machine to rotate relative to another while reducing friction and supporting loads. Bearings are found in an enormous range of equipment, from car wheels and electric motors to trains, aircraft, machine tools, wind turbines, and industrial robots.

NTN describes itself as a global leader in bearings and related rotational technologies. Its products support industries ranging from household electrical appliances to automobiles, railways, wind turbines, airplanes, and rockets.4 The company’s technology has consequently expanded beyond conventional bearings into automotive drivetrain systems, constant-velocity joints (CVJs), driveshafts, electric-motor components, actuators, sensors, robotics, precision machinery, condition-monitoring systems, wind-turbine components, renewable-energy products, and aftermarket replacement parts.5

1918: The beginning

NTN’s history began in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, when a young engineer named Jiro Nishizono established Nishizono Ironworks and began researching and manufacturing ball bearings.6 At the time, bearings in Japan were largely imported, making the development of domestically manufactured bearings an important technological challenge. A second important figure was Noboru Niwa, a businessman who operated Tomoe Trading Co. in Osaka. Niwa and Nishizono eventually collaborated on developing Japanese-made bearings.

1923: The NTN name appears

In 1923, Nishizono Ironworks and Tomoe Trading began manufacturing and selling bearings under the NTN brand.7 The original meaning of the letters was derived from the names and organizations associated with the founders:

• N — Noboru Niwa
• T — Tomoe Trading
• N — Jiro Nishizono

Thus, the original NTN name was essentially a combination of the two founders and the trading company responsible for sales.8 This is an important distinction because the meaning of NTN later changed.

1927–1939: Incorporation and early expansion

In 1927, NTN Mfg. Co., Ltd. was established in Osaka with capital of ¥50,000, representing the beginning of NTN as a dedicated corporate bearing manufacturer.9 In 1937, the company changed its name to Toyo Bearing Mfg. Co., Ltd. and became publicly traded.10

NTN’s international expansion started surprisingly early. In 1938, it established Manchuria Bearing Mfg. Co. in China, marking an early overseas expansion by a Japanese bearing manufacturer. In 1939, NTN constructed its Kuwana Plant in Mie Prefecture, which became one of the company’s important manufacturing and engineering locations.11

1954: Quality reputation

One of the most important milestones in NTN’s history occurred in 1954, when NTN became the first company in Japan’s machinery industry to receive the Deming Prize, recognizing its implementation of statistical quality control and company-wide quality initiatives.12 This became an important part of NTN’s reputation for precision manufacturing. For a bearing manufacturer, quality is particularly important because tiny differences in dimensional accuracy, material quality, surface finish, heat treatment, lubrication, and manufacturing tolerances can significantly affect a machine’s lifetime, noise, vibration, and energy efficiency.

Expansion into automotive technology

Although NTN began primarily as a bearing company, its technology gradually expanded into automotive systems. In 1963, NTN entered into a technical relationship with Britain’s Hardy Spicer and began producing driveshafts.13 This eventually developed into a major automotive business. Today, NTN produces components such as wheel bearings, constant-velocity joints (CVJs), driveshafts, and auto tensioners. NTN states that a typical automobile uses more than 100 bearings, illustrating how extensive bearing technology is within modern vehicles.14

1989: NTN Corporation

A major corporate identity change occurred in 1989, when Toyo Bearing Mfg. Co., Ltd. changed its name to NTN Corporation.15 At this point, NTN gave the acronym a new forward-looking interpretation: “For New Technology Network.” This replaced the historical Niwa–Tomoe–Nishizono interpretation as the company’s modern meaning.16 Consequently, there are effectively two meanings of NTN: the historical origin (Niwa + Tomoe + Nishizono) and the modern corporate interpretation (For New Technology Network).

Globalization

NTN became increasingly international during the second half of the 20th century. The company established sales organizations in Europe and the United States during the 1960s and manufacturing operations overseas during the following decade.17 The American business became particularly important; NTN Bearing Corporation of America was established in 1963 to support NTN’s presence in the U.S. market.18 Today NTN operates as a global group rather than simply a Japanese manufacturer selling overseas. According to NTN’s sustainability organization, slightly more than 70% of its net sales come from overseas markets.19

NTN’s business can broadly be understood through three major markets:

Automotive

This segment includes wheel/hub bearings, constant-velocity joints, driveshafts, automotive bearings, EV components, motor-related components, and tensioners. NTN has also developed products specifically for electric vehicles, including bearings for EV motors and systems such as its In-Wheel Motor System.20

Industrial machinery

This area is most closely associated with NTN’s traditional bearing expertise. Applications include machine tools, industrial machinery, electric motors, gearboxes, robotics, railway equipment, construction machinery, aerospace equipment, agricultural machinery, wind turbines, and pumps and compressors. NTN’s products are designed to support rotating components while minimizing friction, vibration, and energy loss.

Aftermarket

NTN supplies replacement bearings and other components after the original equipment has entered service. This includes replacement bearings, automotive aftermarket parts, industrial replacement components, maintenance products, and technical support. The aftermarket business is significant because bearings are wear-sensitive components that eventually require inspection, replacement, or maintenance.

NTN’s modern product portfolio is considerably broader than simply “ball bearings.” Its products include rolling bearings (ball, roller, cylindrical, tapered, spherical, needle, and thrust bearings); bearing units; sliding bearings; automotive components (CVJs, driveshafts, hub bearings, auto tensioners); precision equipment (electric motors, actuators, sensors, parts feeders, condition-monitoring systems); and green-energy products associated with wind power, renewable energy, independent power generation, and energy-efficient machinery.21

Aerospace

NTN also operates in the aerospace bearing field. Aerospace bearings have extremely demanding requirements because they may need to operate under high rotational speeds, extreme temperatures, high loads, vibration, and strict reliability requirements. NTN’s historical development includes bearings for aircraft and jet engines, and the company describes aerospace bearings as an important high-performance application of its technology.22

Electric vehicles

EVs are an increasingly important area for NTN. Electric vehicles eliminate or substantially change some conventional drivetrain components while introducing new requirements around high-speed electric motors, compact packaging, efficiency, heat management, electrical insulation, reduced friction, and noise and vibration. NTN has developed bearings specifically for EV motors and has also worked on integrated EV technologies such as In-Wheel Motor Systems.23

Technology philosophy

The basic technological problem NTN addresses can be summarized as reducing friction to reduce energy loss and improve machine efficiency and reliability. NTN itself describes bearing technology as technology for saving energy because more precise bearings allow shafts to rotate more smoothly with less energy loss.24 This principle connects many of its apparently different businesses, from car wheel bearings and wind turbine bearings to robot precision bearings and specialized aircraft bearings.

Corporate philosophy

NTN’s official corporate philosophy is: “We shall contribute to international society through creating new technologies and developing new products.” The company says this philosophy is based on two founding principles: Frontier Spirit (the willingness to challenge existing limitations and develop new technologies) and Coexistence and Co-prosperity Spirit (the idea that NTN should develop together with society, customers, employees, business partners, and communities).25 NTN summarizes the behaviors expected from employees through NTN SPIRIT: Challenge — Collaboration — Commitment.26

“NAMERAKA Society”

One of NTN’s distinctive modern corporate concepts is “NAMERAKA Society.” The Japanese word nameraka broadly conveys the idea of smoothness or being smooth/easy. NTN defines a NAMERAKA Society as a society where people can easily lead a secure and fulfilling life in harmony with nature.27 This concept is closely connected to NTN’s engineering identity, extending the idea of “smooth rotation” into a broader social metaphor. In 2020, NTN adopted the brand statement “Make the world NAMERAKA” as its global brand statement.28

NTN’s sustainability strategy focuses partly on the environmental benefits of reducing mechanical friction. The company argues that bearings and driveshaft-related technologies can reduce energy losses in automobiles and other machinery. It is also developing products for renewable-energy applications such as wind turbines.29 NTN has established a goal of achieving Scope 1 & 2 carbon neutrality by FY2035 and Scope 3 carbon neutrality by FY2050.30

As of March 31, 2026, NTN reported ¥65.3 billion in capital, ¥826.3 billion in consolidated sales, 21,305 consolidated employees, and 5,478 employees on a standalone basis. Its headquarters are in the Daibiru-Honkan Building, Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka.31 NTN’s shares trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under stock code 6472. Trading began in May 1949.32

NTN belongs to the group of major global bearing manufacturers. Its Japanese competitors include NSK, JTEKT, and NACHI-FUJIKOSHI. Internationally, it competes with major bearing manufacturers such as SKF (Sweden), Schaeffler (Germany), Timken (United States), NSK (Japan), and JTEKT (Japan). The industry is highly engineering-intensive. Competition is based not simply on price, but also on precision, reliability, operating life, friction, temperature resistance, materials, manufacturing quality, customization, technical support, and global production capability.

Distinctive characteristics

Several characteristics define the NTN brand. Its roots go back to 1918, giving it more than a century of experience in rotating machinery.33 The company developed during Japan’s industrialization and became an important domestic bearing manufacturer. Unlike companies focused exclusively on bearings, NTN developed a substantial automotive drivetrain business, particularly around CVJs and driveshafts. Its technology appears in everything from household equipment to cars, trains, industrial machines, aircraft, robots, and renewable-energy systems.34 Furthermore, the company’s modern sustainability narrative directly connects its core bearing technology to energy efficiency.

35

NTN has had a presence in Indonesia for many years. In 2011, the NTN Group established PT. NTN Bearing Indonesia as a sales company.36 This is part of NTN’s broader ASEAN/global strategy, where its products serve automotive and industrial customers across Southeast Asia, including the Philippines. For regional customers, the brand represents a Japanese-origin global manufacturer rather than a local bearing brand.

NTN is best understood as a precision engineering and rotating-machinery technology company whose historical core is bearings. Its evolution spans from being a Japanese bearing pioneer in 1918 to a major domestic manufacturer by the mid-20th century, followed by global expansion and automotive drivetrain technology development from the 1960s to the 1980s. Since becoming NTN Corporation in 1989, it has grown into a global automotive and industrial supplier, and in the 2020s has expanded further into EVs, robotics, precision equipment, renewable energy, and sustainability.

The company’s enduring competitive advantage is its expertise in precision control of friction, rotation, load, and motion. That is why the same fundamental technology can be applied to a car wheel, factory robot, railway axle, aircraft engine, wind turbine, or electric motor. In that sense, “smoothness” is not merely NTN’s marketing theme—it is essentially the technological problem the company has spent more than a century solving.37

1. 会社概要｜会社情報｜NTN株式会社
2. List of products by industrial field | Product and Technology |NTN Global
3. Corporate Data|About Us|NTN Global
4. Disclosure, FAQ & News Mail Subscription:FAQ|Investors|NTN Global
5. NTN Global | bearings, driveshafts, and precision equipments
6. NTN Group History:History|About Us|NTN Global
7. NTN Group History:Half a Century of NTN – Historical Journey -|About Us|NTN Global
8. I N T R O D U CT I O N
9. Message from Executive Officer in Charge of Sustainability｜Corporate Social Responsibility|NTN Global
10. NTN Americas | About NTN Bearings, BCA & Bower
11. Corporate Philosophy and Realization of A “NAMERAKA Society”:Towards Carbon Neutrality|About Us|NTN Global
12. The History of Our Challenges and Development
13. Management Policy:Top Message|About Us|NTN Global
14. Corporate Philosophy and Realization of A “NAMERAKA Society”:Corporate Philosophy and NTN SPIRIT|About Us|NTN Global
15. Corporate Philosophy and Realization of A “NAMERAKA Society”:NTN Basic Policy|About Us|NTN Global
16. NTN Establishes New Brand Statement “Make the world NAMERAKA”|Press Release:2020|News|NTN Global
17. CEO Message｜Sustainability｜Corporate Social Responsibility|NTN Global
18. About NTN – NTN China Limited
19. Corporate Philosophy and Realization of A “NAMERAKA Society”:Overview of towards Realization of A “NAMERAKA Society”|About Us|NTN Global
20. NTN Exhibits at the “31st Mechanical Components & Technology Expo [Tokyo]”|Event:2026|News|NTN Global
21. Stock Information|Investors|NTN Global
22. Integrated Report “NTN Report 2025” Published|Press Release:2025|News|NTN Global
23. Management Policy:CFO Message|Investors|NTN Global
24. New Year Greeting 2025|Press Release:2025|News|NTN Global
25. Notice regarding Organizational Change|Press Release:2024|News|NTN Global
26. News Release
27. NTNグループの歴史：沿革｜会社情報｜NTN株式会社
28. NTNグループの歴史：創業から半世紀のNTN歴史物語｜会社情報｜NTN株式会社
29. NTNグループの歴史：二人の創業者とNTNのDNA｜会社情報｜NTN株式会社
30. 会社情報｜NTN株式会社
31. 会社情報｜NTN株式会社
32. 3分で知るNTN｜NTNキャリア採用情報
33. 会社概要 | NTN 自然エネルギー商品特設サイト
34. NTN入門：ひとめでわかるNTN｜会社情報｜NTN株式会社
35. 会社情報｜NTN新卒採用情報
36. NTNを知る、はじめの一歩 | 新卒採用 | NTN株式会社
37. その他各種情報：Q&A｜IR情報｜NTN株式会社