Enduring Commitment to Quality, Innovation, Sustainability, & Global Leadership

Last updated Jul 21, 2025

At NBC Bearings, its journey of over seven decades has been driven by one consistent principle: engineering excellence that moves the world responsibly. As India’s leading bearing manufacturer and a proud member of the CKA Birla Group, the company’s history is not just a record of growth—it’s a testament to its enduring commitment to quality, innovation, sustainability, and global leadership, reveals Bearing Review’s interview with Rohit Saboo, President & CEO, NBC Bearings. Excerpts:

Q. NBC Bearings has been moving the world responsibly for over 75 years. What have been some of the most defining milestones in your journey so far?

Established in 1946 in Jaipur, NBC Bearings began as India’s first indigenous bearing manufacturer. Over the years, we’ve achieved several milestones—like the introduction of Cartridge Taper Roller Bearings for railways, a diversified product portfolio across 3,100+ variants, & the capacity to manufacture 250 million bearings annually across five advanced plants.

In 2015, we became the first bearing manufacturer in the world to win the Deming Grand Prize, the highest global award in Total Quality Management. This recognition wasn’t just about processes—it was about our people, culture, and relentless pursuit of operational and design excellence.

NBC was the first and only Indian bearing manufacturer to win the prestigious Deming Grand Prize in 2015. How has this recognition influenced your internal culture and approach to quality and innovation?

Winning the Deming Grand Prize elevated our internal culture in profound ways. It created a shared language of excellence across the organization. Quality no longer remained confined to audits—it became embedded in daily decision-making, product development, supplier relationships, and customer interactions. From continuous improvement teams on the shop floor to Six Sigma conclaves and supplier quality circles, our focus on quality has become a way of life at NBC. This foundation has also helped us take bold decisions with confidence—whether it’s investing in new verticals, technologies, or sustainability frameworks.

Q. With five manufacturing plants across India and a capacity of over 250 million bearings annually, what strategies have helped NBC scale its operations while maintaining precision and reliability?

Growth at NBC has never been growth for its own sake. With five strategically located plants across India and a growing global footprint, we have scaled while keeping precision, sustainability, and customer value at the core. Our Jaipur plant, for example, is capable of producing bearings from 20 mm to 2000 mm OD, while having fully connected lines with Industry 4.0 infrastructure for real-time monitoring.

Q. NBC serves customers in over 30 countries and has a strong presence in the global aftermarket. What are your key strategies for international market expansion and brand positioning?

We currently export to more than 30 countries, with key markets including the USA, Germany, Japan, South Africa, and emerging markets like the Middle East. Our global footprint is anchored by sales and application offices in Switzerland, Germany, the USA, and a strong distribution network in SAARC and Europe. These are not just points of sale—they’re centres of customer engagement, engineering support, and market intelligence.

We are also actively targeting new international OEMs, especially in automotive and industrial sectors, to deepen our relevance in these evolving markets.

Q. How has the acquisition of Kinex Bearings in Europe and the establishment of the Global Technology Centre in Germany enhanced your capabilities and global reach?

Our acquisition of Kinex Bearings in Slovakia was a strategic decision to gain a manufacturing foothold in Europe and offer customised solutions to local customers in railways and industrial applications. Similarly, our Global Technology Centre in Germany serves as a bridge between European innovation and Indian manufacturing strength. It plays a critical role in co-developing new solutions with OEMs, especially in EVs, industrial automation, and aerospace. These global moves have expanded our reach and deepened our technological capabilities, enabling us to compete at par with the best in the world.

Q. Could you share some standout examples of how Industry 4.0 is being implemented across your facilities?

Digital transformation at NBC is not a project—it’s a foundational strategy. We’ve connected over 1,000 machines across our plants through IoT platforms, enabling real-time quality checks, predictive maintenance, and paperless shopfloor operations. Our Connected Factory model has already improved Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE), with scrap reductions and productivity improvements being tracked digitally every day.

We’ve digitised our supply chain (S&OP, supplier portal, RM inventory management) and have matured platforms like HRMS and DPM (Digital Performance Management) for employee productivity and plant efficiency. We’re now preparing to fully embrace AI and analytics, with tools like C4C (Cloud for Customer) to bring even greater agility in customer interactions.

Q. What are some recent initiatives that align with your sustainability and environmental goals?

Sustainability is a strategic pillar at NBC. In 2023, we made a bold decision to move from a limited to full disclosure format in CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project)—knowing well it could risk our current rating. True to our ethos of “Challenge the Status Quo, Raise the Bar,” we succeeded in maintaining a healthy rating for Climate, Water and Forests, even under the more stringent framework.

We’ve implemented significant environmental initiatives such as:

Zero Liquid Discharge across all plants
Over 10 MW of solar energy generated annually
6+ million litres of water saved annually through rainwater harvesting and conservation
Tree plantation drives like “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam”
Shop floor ESG awareness campaigns and supplier engagement programs

A dedicated ESG team, led by our Chief Sustainability Officer, anchors these efforts with periodic reviews by the executive committee.

Q. You have a diverse portfolio across Automotive, Railways, Aerospace, and Industrial segments. How do you tailor your product development and customer engagement strategies for these varied sectors?

Our ability to serve diverse sectors—automotive, railways, aerospace, and industrial—comes from our deep domain understanding and responsive R&D. For railways, we’ve developed CTRBs capable of handling India’s toughest routes. For aero and space programs, we are co-developing bearing components. For the EV sector, we offer sensorized, low-friction, and high-speed bearings, while our industrial portfolio continues to expand into high-precision and high-load applications. This customer-centricity enables us to build long-term partnerships, where we co-create solutions instead of just supplying components.

Q. With a vast aftermarket network of over 550 stockists, how does NBC ensure customer satisfaction and service reliability in this critical space?

With over 550 stockists across India and an expanding base in SAARC, Europe, and the Middle East, we’ve built a powerful aftermarket backbone. We support our partners with training, technical literature, digital tools, and a robust feedback mechanism that feeds into product improvement and customer engagement. The aftermarket is not just a revenue channel—it’s a trust-building platform that amplifies our brand in every region we operate in.

Q. You’re known for responsive design and next-gen product development. What new technologies or bearing solutions is NBC currently developing to meet emerging industry demands?

Our R&D teams, across India and Germany, are working on next-gen solutions—including bearings for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, smart and sensor-integrated bearings, and high-speed bearings for advanced automotive applications.

We’re also expanding into adjacent technologies that cater to railway diagnostics, industrial automation, and condition-based maintenance. These innovations are backed by advanced simulation software, rapid prototyping tools, & our own 3D printing facilities.

Q. With a workforce of over 3000, how does NBC foster talent, innovation, and a strong quality-driven culture across all levels?

Our 3,000+ strong workforce is our most critical asset. To support continuous growth, we’ve launched several talent development initiatives:

Higher education sponsorships for technical & management education
Coursera access for all employees to pursue self-paced digital learning
Sales Engineering Program to upskill our commercial team in product, application, and communication excellence.

In 2024, we also launched SheRise, our diversity and inclusion platform to empower women professionals at NBC. We’re proud to be recognised as a Great Place to Work for eight consecutive years, and recognized amongst top workplaces in manufacturing. We continue to invest in building a culture of trust, learning, and performance.

Q. What is your vision for the next decade in terms of growth, technology, and global leadership?

Looking forward, NBC Bearings is focused on sustainable growth, global relevance, and technology leadership. We aim to:

Expand aggressively in international OEM partnerships, especially in mobility and industrial sectors
Scale up in industrial applications, a segment with massive global potential
Invest deeper in digitization, automation, and AI to drive agility
Develop more adjacent offerings to support customers across value chains
Make sustainability a competitive advantage, not just a compliance requirement

The journey ahead will demand agility, resilience, and bold thinking. But as we’ve shown time and again, NBC Bearings is built not just to adapt—but to lead.