Double Anniversary, Double Celebration

NTN Corporation and NTN-SNR celebrate its 100th Anniversary: 100 years of innovation, supported by an intense program of investments.

by Elena Magistretti

This year NTN Corporation and NTN-SNR Roulements celebrate their 100th Anniversary. Since 1918, the year of its foundation in Annecy, France, NTN-SNR has extended its presence in France, across Europe, Africa, Brazil and the Middle East. In the course of 2018 the company opened in France a last generation 4.0 factory dedicated to the aeronautics sector and for which it invested 27 million euros. This flagship of a new generation of NTN-SNR factories represents the constant commitment of NTN-SNR and NTN Corporation for a sustainable future.

100 years of shared values to create a corporate spirit
A pleasant work environment where employees develop and achieve their potential every day: this is one of the priorities. To that end, NTN-SNR invests its colleagues with responsibility and autonomy, through the use of decision support systems, the elimination of tedious and repetitive tasks, and by using visual management tools.
Innovation is at the heart of the company’s development strategy. NTN-SNR invests 4% of its annual turnover in R&D in support of new projects. As a mechatronics pioneer, NTN-SNR has developed a number of projects that have become international standards. NTN-SNR equipped France’s high-speed TGV trains, which hold the railway speed record; it helped conquer space with the Ariane rockets and equips all latest-generation aeronautical engines. From the basic bearing to the intelligent bearing and to more and more integrated systems, NTN-SNR develops system geometries and applies new materials and new processes to achieve ever greater performance and lower consumption while enhancing both reliability and safety.

A program of investments focused on innovation
The program of investments in strategic industrial projects to modernize and to make more efficient its production facilities in France and Europe benefits from the support of NTN Corporation, which is the second biggest Japanese investor in France today. NTN-SNR engages in digital transformation, using this key dimension to become a major player with an established reputation. The factory of the future is a first response to this industrial process revolution based on new technologies and innovation. Factory 4.0 represents the merger between internet and the production. Along each link in the industrial chain, from production to procurement, the tools and workstations communicate continuously. Sensors, programmable controllers, Big Data, the cloud and industry are witnessing a complete reorganization of production methods by relying on existing tools and by connecting them together in networks.