SNR SHOCK ABSORBER INCEPTION UNVEILED WITH ROMAIN TESTARD

Dive into the future of suspension systems with our latest Wiki Bearings episode! Join host Hassanein Alwan as he chats with expert Romain Testard about SNR's revolutionary gas shock absorbers. Discover how these cutting-edge innovations are setting new standards in performance, durability, and ride comfort. Don’t miss out on these expert insights! Tune in now. 🎧✨

🔗 full episode here: NTN-SNR Shock Absorbers

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to Wiki bearings, where we dive into the worlds of engineering excellence, from the automotive marvels to the industrial giants. Join us to explore the wonders that keeps the world in motion. My name is Hassanein Alwan and I'm your host.

Welcome everyone. Buckle up as we are going to go into a journey into the automotive industry. In this episode, we're going to specifically talk about shock absorbers. I have a special guest with a decade of experience in the spectrum of the automotive OEM aftermarket. He have navigated from France to Japan, China to India.

And today he is the sales manager for NTN in the automotive aftermarket in the Middle East and Africa region. [00:01:00] Romain Testard, welcome to the show. Thank you as Anine. Thank you for coming. It is a pleasure to have you here. It's a, a topic that we maybe the listener, uh, are not used to talk about, especially that you are representing NTM.

Uh, it's gonna be a, an interesting topic to dive into and dig more. And why shock absorber and why NTN to start with, uh, we'd like to know a little bit more about you, few words. Yeah. Um, thank you. Thank you again Hassanein for this great opportunity and all the mineral soccer bearings team. So I'm Romain Testard, as you said, sales manager for the Middle East and Africa for automotive aftermarket.

I'm in the company since, uh, about 10 years, and as you mentioned, I have been, uh, uh, started in France in the automotive aftermarket field. Then. Moved to Japan for three years in charge of, uh, uh, department for automotive [00:02:00] OE, coordinate, uh, European carmakers, global RFQ and, um, and such a stuff. Uh, and back to my first love, which is automotive aftermarket here in Dubai to under this really promising, uh, region and drive our ambition in the, in the automotive aftermarket.

I know you're not only an automotive expert, but you, you're also a cyclist. Yes. Correct. Correct. Um, this, um, this is true. This is part of my life and days. Uh, I love cycling. I'm passionate in the, in that sport for many reasons, but mainly that bring me that discipline, uh, every day. And commitment to have a self satisfaction and perform, uh, over the full day.

So I start early morning, then. My day at work is kind of a very productive week with that. [00:03:00] Great. Of course, you know, cycling is, is a sport. It's a hobby. It's a, and I think, I think, uh, it's a very interesting way to start the day. Some people start with coffee, but you start with cycling. Yes. Yes. Correct. Um, I love the challenge.

I love the challenge in any aspect of my life. And sport is one of the aspects I'm committed, uh, 200 percent to, to this, as well as 200 percent to my work. Uh, the rest of the Uh, free time is with the family, but yeah, I'm kind of energy guy, uh, need to bring new challenge and, uh, and drive new challenge. So I'm also, uh, participating recently in the, uh, region in some races, cycling, cycling races and, uh, and, uh, cycling community.

So when anything, uh, sorry, did you win any, any, uh, yeah, as a team we, we won recently. So, um, [00:04:00] I started to, to do it for challenge myself. But then when competition is on, you know, you want to, uh, you want to, you want to win. So I participate to Abu Dhabi rdo any, uh, uh, Dubai spin is 92. Uh, last month was in Cyprus, grand Fordo for three days, so, yeah.

Yeah. Sounds fun. You know, each is, um, each, um, and, and then, and you have been doing this for quite some time, I guess. Uh, yeah. You, you know, before that I was, um. I, I have always been in love with sports, but doing many, many sports and, uh, I wanted to be more structured and I found, I, I fall in love with, with cycling during COVID actually, when everything was locked down, I was in Japan at the time living with Japan and we were able to go, um, all the gym were closed and so on.

So we were able to, to go, uh, outside outdoor, yeah. And that was the best way to explore Japan with my bike. So I did, I did almost all the prefecture. [00:05:00] Uh, and then I said, I, I, I never stopped. I never stopped. So now I'm doing between 12, 15, 000 kilometers a year. Wow. And, uh, yeah. You must change some bearings.

Yeah, yeah. I need more bearings that sucks. Okay. Let's come to. To speak about a little bit about NTN. Now, NTN is a well known organization in the bearing segment with more than 100 years of experience in perfecting bear, both automotive, industrial, and so on. Now in that premium segment, we have few competitors in the, in the space.

Do you think make NTN different from the competition? As you said, NTN is well known, uh, well established. So NTN celebrated is and read. anniversary in 2018. I remember that. Yes. Uh, which make us in the [00:06:00] close, um, players being over a hundred years old. Yes. We are a precision manufacturer, developers. We research, we, we, we produce, we sells bearings for many industries, uh, industry, aerospace, And automotive as well as CV joint, uh, for automotive.

So we are the leader in those segments, um, worldwide with our 72 plants around the world that give us this power to perform mainly with the OE players and bring us that legacy to, for automotive aftermarket or aftermarkets, uh, businesses. Over 23, 000 employees. Again, now we are, uh, structured in the, in the region to be as close as possible to the customer.

And to meet the market expectation because the, the market expectation here in middle and Africa is completely different than the market expectation in China, [00:07:00] for example, or in Japan. Sure. Uh, so we need focus people in each region, understand the dynamics, understand the culture, the people a hundred percent in the market.

Yes. Yes. So that make us. unique with also our global operation around the world. Yeah. Great. Um, I think, I think NTN, like if, if I look at, uh, 2018 when NTN was celebrating, uh, it was before COVID hundred years and it was, uh, sure. One of the few companies in, you know, I think the hundred years is always that number, that Uh, you can have, there is many big companies, top 500 fortune companies in the world.

And, and, but how many of them are over a hundred, then, then the numbers goes in a, in a different direction. And it is, it is of course, a milestone and to survive a hundred years, this means there is something behind it, a [00:08:00] success, otherwise the company cannot sustain. And it shows the resilience of the company to be able to reach that milestone for sure.

Now if we, you were saying, you're talking about the OE market and like for our audience that doesn't know a lot about NTN, I know that NTN supply to some OE customers, bigger players, important players. Can you tell us something about that? Yeah, sure. NTN is working with all the major OE players for automotive, uh, Japanese, European, USA, Chinese, um, we have operation as well in, uh, in South America.

So we are working with all the major OE players around the world, um, supplying them our, um, our range of, of, of products. And again, as you said, that legacy. When you are OE, that makes your life easier for aftermarket, uh, as a premium segment that [00:09:00] makes Radiantian unique, being a Japanese company for over a hundred years old, that Japanese company made some acquisition in USA, in Europe more recently with the market.

Recently, but not so recently. Yeah, yeah. But, uh, Yes, yes. I got you. I think, uh, the first acquisition was, uh, I mean in U-S-A-B-C-A and borrower, BCA, borrower, then SNR more recently in Europe after, more recently, but, uh, over 15 years back already acquisition with the leader in the region in USA in Europe, already leader in Japan.

Bring that identity, uh, you know, as a global group being so well established with the customer network in OE to, to perform. Yeah. I, I think if we look at NTN, uh, it's, uh, with their move or the [00:10:00] acquisition that happened in, in, in, in the US with Bauer and BSCA. Many years ago, uh, NTN was able to establish itself as the player in, in the U.

S. market with that local acquisition. These two brands are well known in their segment in, in the U. S. A. and it's become Uh, this have changed how, uh, NTN, uh, was in the market in the U S and I think this success was repeated again, uh, by the acquisition of, uh, SNR in Europe. Yeah. And, and SNR, if we look at SNR as a very European brand, uh, and, and, and it was well established in Europe, maybe, uh, with that acquisition, things have, have changed.

I made SNR, uh, and NTN a stronger player in the European market. Yeah, the, the strategy to, um, purchase the leader in the region [00:11:00] in USA and SNR, uh, in Europe allow NTN to grow market, uh, market market share wise, and to be already, to have a, a turnkey solution or to, to integrate already the, the, the leader in.

in the group. And, and, and how do you think this have changed the, the view of, uh, the European customer to Antia? Well, European customer are more and more global, uh, how it is already producing in Mexico, in China and so on. So when you receive OERFQ and you are not able to, uh, supply them in, in, in, in the same territory, uh, or in the same region, they are producing the car.

This is a problem. Uh, so I think this global, network, uh, manufacturing footprints, uh, give that weapon, uh, with those strategic acquisition. If we look at the general automotive aftermarket or the general [00:12:00] automotive range of NTN, we know that NTN doing bearings for sure. What other products are NTN doing?

What, uh, are we looking to see? Yeah, good point. Um, our automotive aftermarket range is divided into four blocks. So we have the, the, the chassis, uh, portfolio first with the wheel bearing. Uh, so we are number one worldwide for wheel bearing. We manufacture over a hundred million bearing a year. Wow. Wheel bearing, wheel bearing a year.

Hundred million. Then we have the, the strut, uh, um, kit. Yeah. So the, the, the, the, the, on top of the shock absorber, we are number two in Europe, uh, for this, uh, uh, product as OE. Um, we have the ABS sensor. You know, you used to call ASB, right? Yes. So in the 1997 SNR. Europe, uh, was not in the end at the time, developed and created actually the, um, [00:13:00] the active, uh, coder, you know, on, on, on the magnetic coder to, to read the speed and, uh, and, and so on.

So, uh, that was, uh, created by, uh, by SNR and now everybody's using for them. I think, I think a lot of our listen doesn't know it is actually an SNR invention. Yeah. Yeah. True. True. But it's a global, a global product now and now it's used everywhere. Yeah. True. And, uh, lastly, we have the CV joint for the, for the chassis.

We are number two worldwide for the OE has a CV joint manufacturer and the newcomer in our range to cover this wheel corner is the shock absorber. as a, as a chassis. Uh, the second block is like powertrain, timing kit, uh, pulleys, stationers, belts, auxiliary, uh, pulleys, the, the belt as well, the dampers, um, things related to the engine and the bearings [00:14:00] and all the surrounding part of the engine.

Yes. Uh, rotating, let's say we do have, uh, as well, the driver's line block with gearbox and crutches. It's a very, very famous in the, in, in the region as well. And finally the truck with all the TRB inch, uh, metric range, which is also very, very, very promising. I think, I think if we look at, um, NTN and compared to other maybe players there, Still, I see that they are very focused around the core of the business, which, uh, I think looks like to be the strategy of NTN.

I think when we look, uh, when we see the automotive aftermarket or then, and then we go to look at what's happening on the automotive OE, which will come at the aftermarket. Today we are in that transition of the growth of EV [00:15:00] and things are changing. uh, rapidly. And I, uh, there is a lots of promises from manufacturer, uh, different players saying, okay, 20, 20, 35, we will stop producing ice engine.

Some are saying 2040 and all of that. Now, when looking at this, how do you as a manufacturer Look at this. Is it an, is it an opportunity or is it a threat? It's definitely an opportunity. I don't know if EV will be the future of automotive. Of mobility. I don't know. Yeah. What is sure is that ICE is under transition and the transition has already started.

Maybe EV is just in between for a next or next next technology. The good news behind that is that bearings will sustain. You will always need bearings for your, for your wheels. You will always need a CV joint, whatever the technology will be. I would be more, uh, [00:16:00] worried if we were, uh, filters or spark plug, uh, specialists, I will say we will have to diversify, uh, our, our product portfolio.

However, this is opportunity. We have the, the timing, uh, kits, uh, and all this poor train, uh, system and the ranges, which is, um, big added value in our portfolio. Or about this, we can see already, uh, a shift or a demand declining on those, uh, product category. But that must be on an OE, not in aftermarket.

Yeah. Or not on aftermarket in Middle East and Africa, but in other region with the EV trend and all those new Still you start to feel Yes. Or to, to forecast that it will be accelerated. Yes. That's why we need to diversify and shock absorber is one of the, the, the move and strategic move we did for the, for the future.

Okay. Now, NTN, as, as I said, it's like for years, it's around, [00:17:00] uh, I mean, a lot of, I think of our audience doesn't know even that NTN is producing CV joint, even though they are the second largest OE manufacturer now, I think, especially in the aftermarket, we, we still do not see it the same way, maybe, but it would make complete sense maybe to bring this to, to the aftermarket.

And. I think this is a product that will stay even after, if we move to EV or hydrogen. Any technology, we need to be joined. Exactly. So I think this is a very, a product that you have an, an advantage and I think it will sustain. On the other hand, shock absorber is, is, is a new business. And I am tempted to ask why shock absorber.

And when we look at other manufacturer, you, you, you, you're talking about. let's say I want to speak about the engine, a lot of manufacturers are, I think, in another position. And if it was spark plugs or filters [00:18:00] or, you know, uh, engine bearings or piston rings, and I think, I think, but when we look at these ranges, which is, I think there is a threat into that technology.

As you said, we are not sure that the future is ev but I think we can say it's part of the future. At least we can already see that the, the growth. Uh, I think technology will continue to evolve and we will see, I think the technology evolving in, in, in both the EV and, and in the ICE or ice engine. And we are, we have perfected the, the ICE engine now for.

Maybe hundreds of years already. So I think, uh, it is, it is still a good engine in my opinion. I mean, uh, yes, EV is, is, is part of the future or the recent future. But I think over the, the past hundred years, how the IC engine started and ended up, I think we are already very advanced, [00:19:00] but still the question is why.

shock absorbers and will NTN be able to compete in that market segment? The expansion of our products portfolio to shock absorber is, um, very logical. If you look at our current product portfolio, expertise, we have a deep understanding on, uh, vehicle dynamics and suspension needs through our current product, like CV joint.

If we look at our chassis ranges, CV joint will bearing struts mounts in between, there is only the shock absorber. So this strategic move and, uh, industrial partnership with a key player. We will complete and strengthen our current product portfolio to deliver the, the best products with our, uh, [00:20:00] to our partners, to our, the, the expertise.

We are keeping the same, um, policy and changes, uh, well known for the quality as a premium, uh, producer and manufacturer. We keep the same for the, for the sh absorber, so it'll be an added value for our partners. From all the, uh, supply chain, uh, from distributor to end user, thanks to our expertise. If we look at today, in the spectrum of shock absorber manufacturer, there are a few shock absorber, there are, are in that segment, few players that are well known.

And they have years of expertise in this range. How will NTN be different? And tell us a little bit more about what we are expecting. Yeah. At first, if I may add that, uh, we [00:21:00] made many study and, uh, our marketing team did, uh, an amazing job to screen many product range, many opportunities. And he's still doing, uh, uh, he's still doing because we, we want to grow, we want to run the proper way.

So if we believe there is added value for us through our partners, uh, then we will take a move. NTN Corporation could compete by, uh, leveraging the proven track record. I would say in, um, in quality, uh, as I said, and precision engineering. So we'll do the same for shock absorber. We estimate for your information, the market truck up, our market for aftermarket, also independent aftermarket and OES in Europe, about 20 to 23 million, uh, Euro, interesting number.

And it, it's still growing. Yeah. Uh, between three to 4% on the year on year. Year on year basis. [00:22:00] Uh, so this movie is. Again, quite logical and following the market needs and dynamic. The added value we will bring again with our current portfolio and our expertise on a strut bearing. So the, the, the, the, the product are extremely complimentary.

Uh, we'll bring added value to our customer and I'm sure soon to mineral circle bearings. I think you are already doing the strut bearings and now the shock absorbers. Again, are we going to see kits not having both? Are we, uh, I mean, I think we need to a little bit unpack what, I think some of the listener does not really know what the strut bearings are exactly.

Maybe you can give us a little bit more here. And, uh, um, I think you had these two in between and then the, the, the shock, shock absorber, I think it's a very complimentary and I think a lots of [00:23:00] audience doesn't know that even, uh, SNR is an expert in this, in that bearing type. Yeah, very, very true. This is by the way, the third bearing, the only bearing in our range, not doing a full, full term.

Um, this shock absorber will again, bring value to this truck bearing and will help us to educate or teach, train the, the, the, the market, uh, through our distributors. The recommendation is to change whenever you change the shock absorber. So you, you have to change both sides, uh, both sides, sorry, together.

And, uh, yeah, hopefully. And, uh, the, the, the strut mount as well. So it going to be two shock absorbers and two strut mounts. If there is any demand, we can. I just, I will offer doing a kind of super kits with, uh, two shock absorbers and two strut mounts. I feel today it's, [00:24:00] um, we still need this a bit of pedagogy in the, in, in the market to push, to, uh, to support, to demonstrate, uh, that if you don't change the strut bearing, then the breaking distance can be a 15 percent more.

So. This is real, uh, safety parts that should be considered at least. Yes. And, uh, and known as you said, uh, the strut mount in Europe, we are, we need to change three shock absorber to change one strut mount. This is the ratio. Yeah. The OE recommend one for one. I think in the region, I have no data, but. One to five, one to ten.

No, I think, I think if we look at, at, at the, if you're going to do the ratio of, uh, with all the, the roads that we have in this region, I think we, and some people does not even know that this is, can be changed or [00:25:00] changeable. I, I think we are, we are a bit far, uh, yet, but I think. Also, the, the newer cars, this is becomes even more important, uh, because this, uh, the way it has increased as well, the way it has increased the, the stability we expect from a car is have, have changed a lot.

Um, the, the way we drive nowadays, um, all of that have changed the, how we look at it. And I think if you look at the, the strut mounts, how it was 10, 20 years ago, it's, it's a different technology today. It's, it's, it's not any more just a rubber part. You're right. And here you bring me to, um, uh, one competitive advantages we have with our strut mount is that we have a steel ball inside.

Some of our competitors, this is sliding type, we call it. So the SUV trend and EV trend, vehicle, vehicle being, uh, uh, heavier and heavier. those [00:26:00] thread bearing are not enough. Uh, the technical requirements are, are, are not enough. So thanks to our steel ball, we can, uh, we can penetrate events and follow this trend.

It's becoming almost like a rubber bearing. Uh, yes, actually from outside. The difference is inside, which you cannot see for the latest generation. You are very true. We used to have zero one. We used to call. Of course, you can still see the, the, the steel. Yeah, no, the difference is really inside. And with all those, uh, steel ball and so on that, uh, yeah.

Okay. Um, if we, if we look at today, uh, the shock absorber business, I think we know whatever the future is. we're going to need them. And we're going to need maybe a more advanced technology in this with, again, with the car speed, with the car, how, how things are moving today. The acceleration of an electrical vehicle is in a [00:27:00] very different, uh, dynamics than a normal engine.

And, and we expect the car to be stable and all of, and this brings that shock absorber is a growing market today and tomorrow. And it is, and if we look at the. In the region, the number of cars are increasing in a different pace than maybe a mature market. And for sure, this is a growing, a growing market and compared to maybe other products that we see that are going to decline.

So I'm very convinced that It is a product that will have a future and NTN, um, they have full record on delivering good products. So we are expecting that we don't expect less. Maybe we expect more. Now, what I understand is that this range would be more focused on European cars and Is that true? Uh, what can you tell us about what, what is your [00:28:00] target market in terms of, of car park and, um, um, what is the brand?

Um, how, how is it going to be, uh, SNR is going to be NTN? Is it a new brand that you are putting into the market? Um, yeah. So it is, uh, it will be SNR. The first launch is or was for European markets covering 80 percent of the European car park. But as you know, many, uh, of the European car park is also composed of Korean and Japanese cars, which we can find here in Middle East and Africa or in China.

Uh, South America. So in terms of car park, yes, 80 percent of the European, but we still can penetrate the the, the, um, was it was a market we are busy expanding the range to release new products and to cover as much as possible, [00:29:00] uh, vehicle around the globe to, to, to make it a global launch. This is our ambition as NTN or SNR, NTN group, but SNR brand.

We compete with the premium segments, as you know. So we will compete with all the premium manufacturer. So if we look at, um, The launch of the brand, you said? Uh, recently, do you have a date when first launch? Yeah. So we launched the SNR Shock Cap sub Range for automotive to market beginning of 2024. So it's, uh, it's very new.

And, uh, how do you see the market reaction in Europe on the brand for the products? Very good. Uh, actually with our, uh, current distributor, they see added value and opportunities added new, uh. product with us. They are happy with our services, with our global offer in terms of, uh, delivery, eShop, uh, the sales team as well, and the, the, the marketing team.

[00:30:00] So it's quite smooth. And, uh, uh, we are happy with the, the result. Yeah. Now I'm going to look at it from a distributor perspective. In your portfolio, you must have at least two types of automotive distributor, one, maybe more a spare part company. And maybe another bearing companies, which is focused on the automotive.

Now we are talking about the automotive aftermarket. Normally you would have these two. Now, thinking from a distributor that maybe are listening to us, maybe you're already existing distributor for you and say, you know, okay, um, what is it for me? Yeah. And then why do I bother? Is it something that I should think about?

But what can you tell the distributor that is listening to us? Yeah. The customer, uh, segment, like as you said, bearing specialist or auto part specialist is completely different. Of course, auto part specialist to provide part from bumper to bumper. They need hundreds different suppliers. [00:31:00] Uh, while a bearing specialist is more.

focus on bearing only, of course. So they are having like eight to 15 different, uh, suppliers. So the added value is obvious, uh, to add a new product, pushing with you, your current ranges to your actual customer network will bring that kind of a unique value with your actual suppliers. And, uh, we, we had the same with you with, uh, For example, I can say, uh, CV joint, uh, when I say you is mineral circle bearing, you are bearing specialist, capturing such, uh, opportunity in, uh, was a high added value products that you can pick in our ranges to add value in our, in our offer and onshore customer satisfaction.

So, so [00:32:00] it's not like take it or. No, of course not. I mean, if we look at, um, now you would have, uh, a wide range. Uh, now in this a hundred years, you acquired so many distributors around. And I, I think we, we, we are looking to launch the, the, the product more globally. This would be the question that many of the, your distributor and then their customer.

So again, I look at now from their customer. So let's say I'm a garage, uh, I'm an end user. Um, I, I want to change, you are telling me to change to shock absorber, to strut mounts and why SNR shock absorbers. Again, this shock absorber range is, uh, of premium quality. We follow the same process as our, uh, actual ranges, which is known since And over a hundred years now, [00:33:00] our, our brand is, um, is well known in the market.

Here in the Middle East and Africa, NTN, Notoriochi is more than SNR, but, uh, bringing the legacy of both, uh, the market and understand that, and this is real advantages for us. The, to offer superior durability and performance. to the garage. Uh, this is the, this is the, the, the, the rail plus. So I will say to, to the garage, this tower products to witness the, the premium quality, same as a wall, was a, uh, uh, was a product him to see the magic.

Exactly. Yeah. I mean, uh, if I look during the past hundred years, you acquired so many new, or existing distributors and your network have grown, but I want to look at today to their customers, which is maybe a garage [00:34:00] or maybe an end user. I now wants to change my, I have a problem in my shock absorbers or.

I want to, I want to do, so why do I choose the SNR shock absorbers compared to other, other shock absorbers in the market? I don't know where to start because there is plenty of advantages. First is our legacy with our, uh, strut mount kits. SR is the best supplier for Short Monkey, which is a hundred percent linked with the shock cap absorber and, uh, recommended from the OE to be changed together.

So this is, this is real, uh, advantages if we focus on shock cap absorber and NT and as a group and also SNR brand is to meet always in our product, technical requirements. Yeah. So this is a, this is a premium range where we offer a unique advantages that we call standardization. [00:35:00] No shock absorber you have left, you have right, you have with sensor, we would sensor and sensor.

We promote one part number to fit, uh, several. That's why we'll only. Eight and the short cap cyber specialists who are listening with only 800 part number, we cover over 80% of the European car park. So I'll shorten the, the stock. Mm-Hmm the inventory, the cash flow of the company distributors. garages and, uh, make it like make the life easier for the, for this product family.

I mean, only an only, I mean, 800, uh, to launch a brand or product with 800 part number is massive. And, uh, Your launch with, with 80 percent of the European car part, I, I see this is like, uh, still a very big milestone. That's a big milestone because our ambitions are big as well. So if you want to reach big ambition, you have to take [00:36:00] a big move and perform big change.

Strong steps. So, yes, it is. 800, it's a lot. But if you look at, was a premium, uh, shock absorber specialists. The product portfolio is wider because they don't have this standardization advantages. Now, if we, if we look at Uh, just with the, with the focus on the Middle East and Africa, because we are in the Middle East and Africa and, and, uh, both me and you are responsible to, to, to work on, on, on this region, you know, the Middle East past, uh, the Middle East and Africa is a bit mixed off of, uh, you have West Africa with a lots of French cars, which I think there, there is a promising market there, but, uh, on this side of, uh, Uh, which I call it maybe East Africa, Middle East.

We have a mix of European, Japanese, Korean cars. Um, of course the Chinese cars are, are, are also a [00:37:00] growing segment. Um, how do you see the range? Um, how do you see that? Uh, will we expect to cover more? Of the Middle East and Africa car park. Yeah, sure. So batch one was mainly European launch as said. And, uh, in the coming months, we have batch two and three, which are already in the pipeline to widen the range and cover the other market.

Now I have to ask this question because I think a lot of our listener wants to know this. And, uh, we, we didn't talk about it today. A lot of automotive after automotive manufacturer that are trying to diversify it. They are sourcing a lot of their production. Is this an NTN production or SNR production, or is it an outsourced production?

So this is a industrial partnership, uh, where NTN made investment. Uh, so this is a, this is public on the press and we will also develop [00:38:00] alternative sources. carefully respecting our technical requirements, which are same as the OE to do reverse engineering at mid, mid the premium, uh, level in terms of quality and performance.

In the similar way for wheel bearing, for example, to take another example, we have dedicated aftermarket lines. Uh, so when we don't have You have the OE position, but does not mean we cannot offer for the aftermarket. So if we, if we see that there is a market opportunity and so on, we have those line, uh, ready to produce and to, uh, to develop internally for aftermarket.

I think you are leveraging the knowledge, the experience, the know how that you have. And, and if there is a, if there is an opportunity, why not to grab that opportunity? Um, if we look at the Middle East and African markets. In addition to the standard roads we are driving in, people loves to go off road, [00:39:00] 4x4s, in the sand, in the dunes, and, and, and road conditions are different, and there's some extreme sports, and do we see that SNR will, will serve that market?

Is it fit for these conditions? Definitely it is, and not only for shock absorber, but all our ranges is, uh, uh, OE quality means we respect the technical requirement, uh, based on the OE specification. Let's take wheel bearing, for example, you have some wheel bearing designed to last after 400, 200, 300, 000 kilometers.

When you supply the same quality, uh, for aftermarket, you can go on any road and the, uh, the, the durability will be ensured. Great. SNR. And I think NTN group is, is looking, you said that it's looking to maybe diversify. Look, are we Seeing any other new product in the horizon, [00:40:00] how, what are we expecting in the coming few years?

We recently launched a few products for e motors. Uh, so this is bearings for e motors, but you know, very specific specification, high temperature and very high speed as well. I mean, we need to explain what is, what e motors means. Thanks. Yeah. Electric motor for electric application. Okay. Yeah. And, and, and this is, this is, uh, part of the, uh, industrial bearing?

No automotive. This is purely automotive. That will, uh, let's say replace the gearbox. And do we expect more products to come in the coming years? How do we see the, the, the growth of, of, of NTN in our, on the automotive, uh, OER aftermarket? Um, new product will come as I, uh, as I said, but also the function or the specification of our current product portfolio are [00:41:00] changing.

We saw with the strut bearing, for example, let's take wheel bearing again, or even CV joint has to be, uh, more compact to fit with the EV, uh, chassis environment and the angle to, um, to be more and more for the wheel bearing should be lighter, the torque should be. Close as zero as possible. So very efficient, uh, to ensure low friction.

Uh, low CO2 emission or more and more autonomy for the, uh, battery, uh, ev. Uh, so the, the product itself require new investment to be at the cutting edge technology of a new, uh, the new e requirement and demand. Yes. You know, the UG unit, ings, uh, the first generation as we used to call for the. Wheel bearing.

Yeah. This is [00:42:00] everywhere in, on the road, but you can see that the new vehicles sold are almost all with cell generation. Yes. So this and, and, and I think it's getting more and more demand on this. Like now we need them with a, BS with sensors, with lighter in weight, smaller and, and, and this the. There is a lot of pressure on making this lighter, especially for EV, how to make a steel bearing lighter.

Now, I think, uh, a lot of manufacturers like you are exploring to use different metals, if it's aluminum or carbon or, And I know that there is a lots of, so the same products, but it's, there is this, this, um, evolution going on in, in, in the market. Now there, there is a recent development in the market where some, um, mechanical producer or bearing companies and so on have ventured into softwares, electronics, um, sensors, and, and, and [00:43:00] I know that SNR produce also some sensors there.

Maybe you give us there, but are we going to see. more into the electrification of the cars from, from SNR or from NTN group? What's sure is that we still have hundreds and hundred years to go. So we should never say never, um, definitely we need to follow the market trend and wherever we will see a strategic mover following our DNA, then we will have to investigate and move forward.

Yes. Roma, it was great having you. I enjoyed very much our discussion. I hope our audience is, have enjoyed that as much as we did. Thank you very much for today. Thank you. Thank you for having me and hosting me. Um, I, maybe this is the first time, but to probably not the first time. Then not the last time we have many more things to discuss.

Okay.[00:44:00] 

very much and see you guys next time. Thank you. And that wraps another episode of Wiki bearings. Don't forget to subscribe for more insight into the fascinating realm of the engineering innovation. Until next time, keep spinning towards greatness.