We conduct R&D in four regions throughout the world, taking advantage of tribology which is our core technology.In R&D bases in Japan and Europe, we conduct basic research, including fundamental technologies, and research on cutting-edge technologies. At the same time, we are developing technical services such as each product development, certification assessment, surveys, and analysis in a manner that completes all processes locally, so that we can quickly respond to customers'needs in each region. We share information on design, prototyping, experiments, production engineering, and customer projects among our regional business sites to create value-added products that respond quickly to the needs of our customers.

In our core businesses, we have begun developing sensing and module products in response to CASE and are developing hub bearings aimed at further low friction. In addition, we have positioned industries such as wind turbine business which is expected to grow, and robots which require advanced technology, aircraft, machine tools, rolling stock, construction machinery, and agricultural machinery, as important industries, and are developing new products that meet market demands. Meanwhile, in April 2020, we established the New Business Search and Development Department under the New Product and Business Strategic Planning Headquarter as an organization that realizes integrated development that anticipates changes in business formats. This organization will serve as the foundation for new businesses that will support NTN in the future.

In the Japanese market, we are increasingly procuring from overseas business partners such as those in China and ASEAN, and our business is expanding globally. From a global perspective, we endeavor to promote local procurement and procurement in optimal locations with our focus on not only domestic business partners but also a wide range of business partners worldwide, and emphasize the superiority of quality/price and the certainty of delivery date in pursuit of stable procurement that is responsive to changes in the marketplace. In addition, by complying with legal and ethical standards and conducting fair and impartial transactions, we will not only ensure the confidence of our customers and society, but also enhance the competitiveness of our business partners, thereby continuing to achieve "sustainable growth" together with our business partners.

We will contribute to the creation of a "sustainable society and environment" by pursuing transactions that take full account of environment conservation and resource conservation through our efforts to conserve the global environment and to promote "green procurement," which prioritizes business partners with superior environmental quality. Through these transactions, we will deepen mutual understanding with business partners and build and strengthen cooperative relationships.

Amid the rapidly changing business environment, speeding up from marketing and product planning to prototyping and mass-production is the key to improving customers'satisfaction. Under these circumstances, we will strengthen the linkage between the innovation process of product planning and development, and the supply chain process of marketing, production, and sales with the aim of building a manufacturing system that is resilient to changes. Through the promotion of digitization, we aim to further accelerate operations by linking all kinds of information.Through the promotion of digitization, we aim to further accelerate operations by linking all kinds of information. Through the promotion of digitization, we aim to further accelerate operations by linking all kinds of information.

At overseas manufacturing sites, we are reinforcing our data management during risk analysis and prototyping by thoroughly implementing our rules for model transfers and process changes in order to ensure stable quality from the production startup and establish a quality assurance system that meets the worldwide uniform standards. Supporters from the mother plant and quality control divisions are temporarily sent to local sites to conduct audits, verify previous problems, improve processes, and provide quality guidance to local employees. We are also actively engaged in human resource development activities aimed at enhancing and passing on NTN's proprietary know-how, such as developing and producing our manufacturing equipment in-house.

Sales representatives regularly provide opportunities for face-to-face or online meetings with customers to propose our products that meet the needs of new products being developed by customers and to provide consultation on how to solve problems. Our sales representatives also conduct consulting-based sales activities to respond closely to problems with customers'existing models that are in the mass-production phase by liaising between customers and relevant divisions within the Company. Sales engineers provide technical services necessary to solve problems by quickly grasping the technical needs of customers.

With regard to products for which mass-production and delivery are started, we ensure the optimal inventory and enhance our product lineup in line with our customers' production plans. In the aftermarket business, we provide technical services such as training regarding how to handle our products by visiting customers who actually bought and are using our products. We are also working to further improve customer satisfaction by constantly securing inventory and enhancing supply capabilities for our popular catalog products.

The needs of customers, such as lightweight, quietness, low torque that leads to energy conservation, and longer operating life, are changing with the times. We are working to improve customers'confidence in the NTN brand and their satisfaction by responding swiftly to these needs and changes in the external environment and delivering high quality products to customers at appropriate prices. We conduct annual customers satisfaction surveys to listen directly to our customers' opinions, such as their satisfaction levels and requests.

NTN provides various products for industrial machinery and automotive maintenance needs. In industrial aftermarket applications, we provide bearings for general machinery and bearings used to repair equipment used in industries such as mining, paper, steel, cement, and food manufacturing. In automotive aftermarket applications, we satisfy customer needs with a product lineup of repair parts (auto parts) composed of bearings and peripheral components.
In addition to delivering products, we also provide technical services such as by holding the "NTN Aftermarket Academy" to help customers learn about bearings through lectures and practical training, and by holding technical workshops at customers' manufacturing sites using technical service units. Also, we support customers improving productivity and ensuring stable operation of their facilities, for example, by providing the NTN PORTABLE VIBROSCOPE, which makes daily maintenance of production facilities easier.

We are responding to the demands of our customers for long operating life, improved loading capacity, and higher speed, all of which are required by all types of industrial machinery, with the world's highest standard new-generation bearings, ULTAGE Series. In addition, through constant R&D efforts, we will launch bearings with even lower torque, more compactness and lighter weight to the marketplace, enabling environmental impact reduction in a variety of industrial machinery fields.

Looking ahead to the next generation, we will promote modularizations and intelligentization by deepening bearing technologies and integrating sensors and precision equipment technologies. In addition to developing high value-added products, we will develop new products and services by utilizing the abnormality detection technology, condition monitoring system (CMS), and IoT. Specifically, we launched sales of the Wind condition monitoring system for wind turbine and i-WRIST™, a Wrist Joint Module that contributes to automation and labor saving at manufacturing sites.By providing these products and services, we will contribute to the development of industry and the creation of a sustainable society.

Our work in the automotive segment includes developing more advanced bearings, hub bearings and driveshafts to create higher added value. We are also combining these core products with core technologies to develop module products. To prepare for the coming era of electrification of automobiles and autonomous driving, we have released "Electric Motor and Actuators" composed of ball screws, motors and controllers. We are working on expanding their range of applications and proposing them to customers. Through collaboration with alliance partners, we are expanding these products globally while breaking away from self-sufficiency in order to meet the existing needs of the automotive market, such as low fuel consumption and increased ride comfort, as well as the rapidly increasing demand for electrification.

We are committed to realizing a low-carbon society by contributing to energy saving of all machinery through the development of core technologies and new products. We are also actively developing natural energy-related products that can contribute to an energy circulation society by applying core technologies that we have cultivated into new areas. As a new initiative, we are also focusing on R&D by utilizing external collaboration to support regenerative medicine and drug discovery that will lead to early detection and treatment in a society where the birthrate is decreasing and the population is aging.

The NTN Group, which is expanding its business globally, is practicing social contribution activities leading by employees in order to continue to be a trusted company that meets the expectations of each region, with the pillars of "Environmental Conservation," "Fostering the Next Generation," and "Contributions to Local Communities."