NSK Needle Bearing Poland has been honoured with the Supplier Award 2017 for Achievement in Quality from Toyota Motor Europe. The award was presented during the Toyota Motor Europe Annual Business Meeting 2018, which was held on 27 March at the Autoworld vintage car museum in Brussels, Belgium.

Every year, Toyota Motor Europe and top managers from European suppliers take a look back at the last financial year. The Supplier Award 2017 for Achievement in Quality is the third Toyota Motor Europe award presented to NSK Needle Bearing Poland following similar successes in 2008 and 2014.

Winning the award is based on a number of KPIs (key performance indicators), including PPM (parts per million), which is used by many OEMs to measure how many defects are supplied in a million parts. Warranty claims and claims management are among further KPIs scrutinised for the award.

After an intensive judging process, the award for 2017 was bestowed on NSK Needle Bearing Poland, which together with other NSK manufacturing plants, has been supplying products (mostly needle roller bearings) to Toyota Motor Europe since 2005.

NSK manufactures a large variety of needle bearing products for automotive applications, including those for engine rocker arms. The low friction and high durability of NSK needle roller bearings are ideal for rocker arms, which must leverage the force of the cam to open and close engine valves with efficiency and reliability.

The European manufacturing plants of NSK also produce cage and needle roller assemblies for transmission applications. With no inner or outer ring, the low cross-section of these products provides maximum load-carrying capability within a small envelope. Properly lubricated, they can operate at high speeds thanks to the unique cage, which provides precise roller guidance.

Furthermore, the controlled contour rollers in cage and needle roller assemblies have an optimum profile which reduces stresses, allows operation under moderate misalignment and prolongs bearing life.