Ohio's Koyo Corporation of USA Benefits from JTEKT Acquisition

WESTLAKE, Ohio – Koyo Corporation of USA, supplier of bearings to diverse industrial markets, has enhanced its research and development capabilities, expanded its industrial product offerings and increased its North American capacity through parent company JTEKT’s recent acquisition of the Torrington Needle Roller Bearing business from The Timken Company and the subsequent formation of Koyo Bearings USA LLC.

For over 50 years, Koyo Corporation of USA, a JTEKT Group company, has designed and manufactured a wide range of bearings focusing on key markets such as automotive, agriculture, electric motor repair, steel, construction, power sports, and wind energy. Collaboration with the new Koyo Bearings USA will expand Koyo Corporation of USA’s product offerings and bring the combined technologies and expertise to new markets, including aerospace, machine tool and office equipment.

“The alliance with Koyo Bearings USA allows us to maximize productivity and strengthen our current product offerings to meet the demands for the agricultural, construction and power sports markets, as well as be even more competitive and technologically advanced in the aerospace, machine tool and office equipment markets,” said Yoshio Tsuji, President and CEO, Koyo Corporation of USA.

Koyo Corporation of USA has three manufacturing facilities located in Orangeburg and Blythewood, S.C., and Washington County, Tenn., as well as an engineering and technical center in Plymouth, Mich. This existing manufacturing base is complemented by Koyo Bearings USA’s five United States needle roller bearing manufacturing facilities and their Greenville Tech Center located in Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research Park.

“JTEKT’s decision to acquire Timken’s Needle Roller Bearings business offers an opportunity for considerable synergies between the two companies,” said Rob Hamilton, director, industrial OEM and aftermarket sales, Koyo Corporation of USA. “Our engineering and manufacturing experience joined with their resources and capabilities will allow us to expand our technological expertise and our product offerings into new industrial markets.”

JTEKT signed approximately a $300 million agreement, after an adjustment in the value of retained assets, with Timken on July 29, 2009 to acquire its Needle Roller Bearing assets; the transaction was completed December 31, 2009. JTEKT acquired a global production network of 12 needle roller bearings manufacturing facilities and three engineering technology centers located in:

North America: Cairo, Dahlonega and Sylvania, Ga.; Greenville and Walhalla, S.C.; and Bedford, Quebec, Canada
Europe: Brno and Olomouc, Czech Republic; Maromme, Moult, and Vierzon, France; Künsebeck, Germany (two); and Bilbao, Spain
Asia: Wuxi (LiYuan), China

Koyo Bearings USA will manufacture needle roller bearings under the Koyo^®Torrington^®Needle Roller Bearings brand, which features an extensive range of radial and thrust needle roller bearings, as well as bearing assemblies and loose needles for automotive and industrial applications. The entire management team and its 3,400 associates will transition into the new business unit. Timken’s former president of needle roller bearings, Ken Hopkins, has been named president and chief operating officer of Koyo Bearings USA, which will manage the global business unit.

Koyo Bearings USA, LLC, a JTEKT Group company, produces highly engineered needle roller bearings, including an extensive range of radial and thrust needle roller bearings, bearing assemblies and loose needles under the Koyo Torrington Needle Roller Bearing brand. Its customer base is primarily original equipment and Tier 1 automotive manufacturers in North America, Europe and Asia. Headquartered in Canton, Ohio, the business unit employs 3,400 globally at 12 manufacturing facilities and three technology centers. In 2008, the business unit had annual sales of $621 million.

Koyo Corporation of USA, founded in 1958, is the sales, marketing, and distribution arm of JTEKT Corporation for ball and roller bearings. Koyo has been a major supplier of bearings for over 50 years to a wide range of industrial markets including: automotive, agriculture, electric motor, steel mill, semi-conductor, and wind energy. Koyo is headquartered in Westlake, Ohio.

(“JTEKT”, JTEKT Corporation ) is a Japanese manufacturer of steering systems (JTEKT Automotive), driveline components (JTEKT Automotive and Torsen), bearings (Koyo) and machine tools (Toyoda Machinery). The company is a world leader in the production of bearings solutions used in a wide variety of applications, including automobiles, jet engines, windmill power generators, and shinkansen (bullet trains). JTEKT was formed in January 2006 following the merger of Toyoda Machine Works Ltd. and Koyo Seiko Co. Ltd. Koyo Seiko was founded in 1921, and Toyoda Machine Works in 1941. Headquartered in Nagoya and Osaka, JTEKT has 34,000 employees, with operations in 70 locations worldwide, encompassing Asia/Oceania, North America and Europe. JTEKT’s president is Motohiko Yokoyama, and chairman is Kohshi Yoshida. As of March 31, 2009, JTEKT had sales of $10.9 billion (1,017 billion JPY).

Torrington^® is a registered trademark of The Timken Company.

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