NTN Corporation (Osaka, Japan) and Nidec Corporation (Kyoto, Japan) have formed a joint venture, NTN-Nidec Philippines Corp. (Manila, Philippines) to manufacture a new generation of hard disk drive spindle motors using fluid dynamic bearings.

One of the world's largest bearing makers, NTN is also a key supplier of the miniature ball bearings used in previous generation disk drives.

In Nidec, NTN has partnered with a key player in the disk drive and precision electrical motor marketplace. Nidec dominates 70% of the world market for hard disk drive motors.

The new company will produce fluid dynamic bearing spindle motors using NTN developments with sintered alloy metals. By combining NTN's sintered bearing technology with Nidec's disk drive motor expertise, the venture expects to produce the best fluid bearing motors out of the growing list of competitors.

The joint venture is to be formalized by the end of 2001. At that point, a factory will be under construction in the Laguna International Industrial Park near Manila. Initial production capacity of 2 million units per month is expected to be online by late April 2002. Ultimate capacity is estimated at 8.5 million units per month. Nidec will take all of the production output.

Nidec already manufactures different fluid dynamic bearings for its precision motors at plants in Japan, Thailand, and another plant in the Philippines. This second Philippines operation is expected to augment current production, along with introducing the joint venture's new bearing technology.

The NTN-Nidec bearing plant will join Sankyo and Koyo facilities, also producing fluid bearings in new plants in the Philippines.

Hydrodynamic, or fluid-film, bearings are rapidly displacing ball bearings in the key market for disk drive motors. Over 188 million disk drives were manufactured in 2000. That number is expected to grow quickly as disk drives find their way into more and more consumer devices such as video recorders.