China Huanchi Bearing Group (China) said it has been named by Toshiba China Co. Ltd. (a division of Toshiba Ltd., Japan) as its "first choice" for bearings going into Toshiba household appliances produced in China.

Founded in 1973, China Huanchi has been privately held since 1997. The company produces ball and roller bearings, in both metric and inch dimension sizes. Their particular specialty is low-noise, electric motor quality (EMQ) ball bearings, and one of the four plants is dedicated solely to that line.

China Huanchi bearings are sold primarily under the HCH brand, but also under CTK and CA. Together, its four plants employ approximately 3,000 employees; 2007 sales were in the neighborhood of USD $60 million.

The vendor move is a break from tradition for a Japanese company operating in China -- transplants usually prefer to work with the China-based arm of an established vendor from Japan.

Toshiba China manufactures an extensive array of home appliances -- refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, fans, vacuum cleaners, air cleaners, and a similar myriad of small appliances.

Illuminating the growing importance of its manufacturing presence in China, three of Toshiba's ten international procurement offices are now in China; in contrast, the U.S. has two and Japan only one.