ABC Bearings Plans Export Growth

ABC Bearings Ltd. (formerly Antifriction Bearings Corp., India) became the latest bearing manufacturer in India to announce plans to grow sales by aggressively stepping up export activities. As one of India's key manufacturers of automotive-size tapered roller and cylindrical roller bearings, ABC has a large domestic OEM market share to companies such as Toyota. But exports currently account for only 3% of sales, virtually all of that to North America. In 2001, ABC Bearings decided to focus its efforts on roller bearings rather than compete in the ball bearing market against FAG and SKF. ABC sold its ball bearing manufacturing plant to Tata Bearings. ABC operates two bearing manufacturing plants, in Lonavala and Bharuch. Leveraging the technical relationship it established with NSK Ltd. (Japan) in 1998, ABC said it hopes to double export sales by targeting the growing auto manufacturing industry operations in Thailand, where NSK has a manufacturing joint venture.