NTN Co., Ltd., a Japanese listed company founded in 1918, is one of Japan's three largest bearing companies and one of the world's five largest comprehensive bearing manufacturers. The company has more than 12,000 employees and annual sales of US$2.05 billion (related sales 2.85 billion U.S. dollars), it has R&D institutions or production bases in 12 countries and regions including Germany, the United States, France, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and South Korea. The company produces important parts for the automotive drive series - constant velocity universal. In 2003, its sales exceeded 100 billion yen, making it the world's second largest manufacturer of constant velocity joints. Headquartered in Nishi-ku, Osaka City, it has 11 manufacturing plants, 25 sales offices and 3 research institutes in Japan; it has 20 wholly-owned production plants, 2 research institutes and 48 sales offices abroad. NTN's production, sales, and technology departments work tirelessly to develop and deepen their own professional fields, while at the same time organically integrating with each other.