NTN Corporation (“NTN”) hereby announces that “NTN DRIVESHAFT ANDERSON, INC. (NDA)” has been established in Anderson, Indiana, as the third manufacturing plant for automotive driveshafts in America. Mr. Hiroshi Ohkubo, President of the NTN Corporation, attended the ground breaking ceremony in Anderson, Indiana on Tuesday, November 17th along with Indiana’s Governor, Mr. Mike Pence, Anderson Mayor Kevin Smith, and Mr. Tetsuya Sogo, CEO of NTN Americas Region, as well as several NTN senior leaders.Mr. Okhubo, President of NTN, speaks at ground breaking
Mr. Ohkubo spoke at the ceremony, thanking the state of Indiana and the city of Anderson for their support in securing the site for NTN Driveshaft in Anderson.
Mr. Sogo also made a donation on behalf of NTN Americas to the Madison County Chapter of the United Way Charities.
Purpose of establishing the new company
One of the basic policies of the three-year medium-term management plan “NTN 100” that began in April 2015 is to “Manage Profitability,” and NTN is focusing on structural reform of the driveshaft business as part of this major theme.
NTN has been making the move to local production in America, by establishing “NTN DRIVESHAFT INC. (NDI)” in Columbus, Indiana, U.S.A. in 1989 to manufacture driveshafts, and “NTK PRECISION AXLE CORP. (NTK)” in Frankfort, also in Indiana, in 2003 to manufacture pre-process parts for driveshafts. In 2007, NTN also established “Seohan-NTN Driveshaft USA CORP.” in Alabama to produce driveshafts.
Demand for SUVs and pickup trucks have soared in recent years in North America , which has led to a sudden increase in demand for NTN driveshafts, and existing manufacturing plants in North America have been under full production. With strong demand is forecasted into the future, a decision was made to establish the third plant in America for manufacturing driveshafts. NTN will strengthen the driveshaft supply system and increase local production with the aim of achieving the “NTN driveshafts achieving World's No. 1 customer satisfaction level.”
Note: SUV = Sport Utility Vehicle
Overview of the new company
What are driveshafts?
Driveshafts are parts that consist of constant velocity joints (CVJ) and shafts to transmit the power of an automobile engine’s rotation smoothly and constantly to the vehicle’s tires, and are used for the front-wheel drive, 4-wheel drive and independent suspension systems of rear-wheel drive vehicles. The driveshafts are key parts that greatly affect a vehicle’s fuel consumption and the quietness and comfort of the ride. These aspects of automotive performance are constantly in high demand.
Future plans
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Mass-production planned to begin in April 2017.
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Plans include sales of approximately 22 billion yen by fiscal 2018.
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Employment will approach 280 people by 2017, with plans for the gradual expansion.
NTN production plants in the Americas
NTN Contacts:
Georgianne Dickey, NTN Marketing: gdickey@ntnusa.com
Pat Manser, NTN Marketing: pmanser@ntnusa.com
