What NSK makes

NSK is one of the world's largest makers of rolling bearings, and NSK Corporation is the company's US operating arm and Americas headquarters. The product range runs from ball and roller bearings to wheel-bearing hub units, needle bearings, and super-precision bearings for demanding environments. On the automotive side, NSK supplies bearings to car makers and to component manufacturers, along with automatic-transmission parts, hub units, and electric power steering (EPS) systems. The company reports its business in two segments: Automotive Business and Industrial Machinery Business.

The industrial side is a full precision-motion catalog: ball screws, linear guides, Megatorque direct-drive motors, and condition-monitoring systems used in machine tools, semiconductor equipment, food and beverage lines, medical devices, and packaging machinery. NSK describes its core technologies as tribology (friction control) and mechatronics, both built up over more than a century of bearing work. For automotive buyers, the relevant capability is that NSK carries a bearing and steering portfolio across the "running, turning, and stopping" functions of a vehicle, positioning it as a broad-line OEM Tier 1 and Tier 2 source rather than a single-part specialist.

In the United States, NSK both manufactures and services product. The Franklin, Indiana operation (NSK Precision America / the NSK Corporation Franklin Plant) handles domestic manufacturing, engineering and design, distribution, and integration. The San Jose, California site adds integration capability and engineering for linear and mechatronics products, and Ann Arbor houses the Americas headquarters along with research and development, testing, and customer service.

Financial performance

NSK Corporation does not publish standalone US financials, but its parent, NSK Ltd., is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (code 6471) and reports consolidated group results. For the year ended March 31, 2026, NSK Ltd. reported net sales of 911.6 billion yen, roughly $6.0 billion, up 14.4 percent from the prior year. Operating income was 38.8 billion yen, up 36.4 percent, for an operating margin of about 4.3 percent. Net income attributable to owners of the parent more than doubled to 22.9 billion yen, up 114.8 percent, and return on equity was 3.5 percent. Group capital stood at 67.2 billion yen as of March 31, 2026.

These are group figures across all regions and both segments, not a read on the US entity alone, and the steering business is now reported as an equity-method affiliate (NSK Steering & Control, Inc., jointly managed with an investment partner since 2023) rather than a fully consolidated line. Still, the direction is clear: a diversified bearings major reporting rising sales and sharply higher profit, backing a US operation with domestic manufacturing and long-tenured customer programs.

Ownership and history

NSK Ltd., short for Nippon Seiko Kabushiki Kaisha, was established in Tokyo on November 8, 1916 and produced the first ball bearings made in Japan. It grew from a regional bearing supplier into a global bearings and automotive company operating more than 200 business locations across roughly 31 countries, with about 26,278 employees as of March 31, 2026. NSK opened its first overseas base, a US sales company, in 1962, and its first overseas plant in Brazil in 1970, then expanded manufacturing across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Today NSK Corporation operates as the Americas headquarters at 4200 Goss Road in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with US sites in Franklin, Indiana; Clarinda, Iowa; and San Jose, California. The parent is publicly traded, so the US operation carries the backing of a listed global group rather than a single owner. NSK is a member of MEMA, the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association.

Certifications and quality

NSK reports IATF 16949, the automotive quality-management standard, and ISO 9001 across its manufacturing sites, along with ISO 14001 environmental and ISO 45001 occupational health and safety certifications at many plants. The company publishes a group-wide management-system certification status document (dated April 2025) and individual worldwide certificate PDFs on its own site, which is stronger evidence than a single unposted claim. IATF 16949 is the baseline expectation for a direct automotive supplier, and NSK's automotive bearing and steering plants carry it. Buyers running PPAP and APQP processes with NSK are working with a supplier whose quality systems are documented at the site level.

Known customers

NSK supplies bearings, hub units, and steering components to global automakers and their component suppliers, but it does not publish a customer roster, which is normal for a Tier 1 and Tier 2 bearing supplier under program confidentiality.

Beyond that segment-level framing, specific customer programs are not disclosed on the public record, so this profile does not name individual automakers. The customs record below describes NSK's supply base, which is a fact about its suppliers rather than a claim about who buys from it.

Sourcing evidence

NSK's US import record is large and active, as expected for a global bearings company serving the North American market. US customs bills of lading show more than 23,000 shipments to NSK's US importing entity, with the most recent on record in September 2026. The named foreign suppliers are dominated by NSK's own overseas plants and long-standing partners: Siam NSK Steering Systems in Thailand, Daeyong Industrial in South Korea, and Changshu NSK Needle Bearing in China, among others. That pattern, with intra-group plants in Thailand, Korea, China, and Japan feeding US distribution and assembly, is the signature of a manufacturer running a global bearing network and pulling finished and semi-finished components into the United States rather than a domestic-only producer. It is also relevant to buyers weighing tariff exposure and nearshoring, since a meaningful share of NSK's US-sold product originates in Asia.

Coverage caveats: these are US ocean-freight records only. Air, truck, and rail movements do not appear, some records name freight intermediaries rather than plants, and product categories come from declared manifest codes, which are noisy. Absence of a record is not evidence of absence.

Frequently asked questions

What does NSK Corporation make?

NSK Corporation, the US arm of NSK Ltd., makes rolling bearings (ball, roller, needle, and wheel-bearing hub units), automotive components including automatic-transmission parts and electric power steering systems, and precision motion products such as ball screws and linear guides. It supplies both the automotive industry and industrial machinery markets.

Who owns NSK Corporation?

NSK Corporation is the Americas operating entity of NSK Ltd. (Nippon Seiko Kabushiki Kaisha), a Japanese company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under code 6471. NSK Ltd. was founded in 1916 and is one of the largest bearing manufacturers in the world.

What is NSK's revenue?

NSK Ltd., the listed parent, reported consolidated net sales of 911.6 billion yen, about $6.0 billion, for the year ended March 31, 2026, up 14.4 percent year over year. NSK does not publish standalone revenue for its US operation.

Where is NSK Corporation headquartered?

NSK Corporation's Americas headquarters is at 4200 Goss Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105. It also runs US sites in Franklin, Indiana; Clarinda, Iowa; and San Jose, California. NSK Ltd.'s global headquarters is in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan.

Who are NSK's customers?

NSK supplies bearings, hub units, and steering systems to global automakers and their component suppliers, per its own automotive segment description. It does not publish a named customer list, which is standard for a Tier 1 and Tier 2 bearing supplier operating under program confidentiality.

What certifications does NSK hold?

NSK reports IATF 16949 automotive quality-management certification and ISO 9001 across its manufacturing sites, plus ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 at many plants. The company publishes a group management-system certification status document and individual worldwide certificate PDFs on its site.

Last verified September 28, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.