LYON—Having solved steel supply issues, bearing supplier NTN Europe is acquiring new machine-tools to increase production, Michel Barria, head of sales and marketing, says.
As NTN Europe’s investment plan begins to materialize, it is another sign that the aerospace supply chain predicament, which has impeded the manufacturing of aircraft and engines for years, is easing.
NTN Europe, also known as SNR and based in Argonay near Annecy, France, mainly produces bearings for turbine engines such as the CFM Leap and the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G GTF turbofans, auxiliary power units and helicopter gearboxes. One year ago, the company was struggling to obtain raw materials, especially steel. Its steel suppliers—three in Europe and one in the U.S.—were often late and were shipping smaller quantities than agreed on, Barria said at the time. He no longer sees a problem with steel supply, but NTN Europe is developing alternatives, he says.
NTN Europe has evolved its sourcing strategy. “Supply chain is no longer an issue,” Barria says. “To meet our customers’ need for robustness, we favor geographical proximity. Our suppliers are located in France and Northern Italy.”
For ball bearings, NTN Europe has added a second supplier. For processes such as silvering, copper plating and cadmium plating, NTN Europe has both increased its own capacity and found subcontractors. The diversification effort adds workload for both NTN Europe and the customer. For example, engine-maker Safran needs to approve—in terms of quality—every new supplier of NTN Europe and that validation exercise takes time and resources, Barria says.
As a result, the company has increased its on-time delivery performance to 85%, from 70% one year ago, Barria says. “We improved the punctuality of our own supply chain,” he says. “We had to delay some production batches but never underwent a severe shortage.”
Although OEMs tend to not stick to their own ramp-up targets, a solid outlook for commercial aircraft production and growing demand for dual civil-military products—20% of the current production—is encouraging NTN Europe to increase capacity. In three years, the company expects its Elevation investment plan to translate into a 60% production increase, a 40% revenues growth from the current €80 million ($93 million) and a 30% reduction in production lead times. Early this year, the company issued requests for proposals and, as soon as parent NTN Corporation approved the €30 million plan in April, started spending to order equipment. The first machine-tools are expected at year-end.
NTN also intends to double capacity for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services. Renovating used bearings or examining them to confirm they can continue their life in service meets customer needs, Barria says. This approach cuts both costs and turnaround times, compared to relying on newly manufactured bearings. “We already did MRO for the CFM 56 engine, and we are developing that capability for the Leap and the GTF, as well as helicopter engines and gearboxes,” Barria points out.
Hiring challenges have eased, too. NTN Europe’s training center is contributing and a partnership with a local military unit is helping find new managers, when soldiers transition to civil jobs. The company expects to add another 100 employees to the current 600 by 2030, Barria says.
