NSK Americas (a division of NSK Ltd., Japan; website) has named Brian Lindsay as its new President and Chief Operating Officer. He has responsibility for all of NSK Americas -- NSK Canada, NSK Corporation, NSK Precision America, NSK Steering Systems, NSK Latin America, NSK Mexico, and NSK Brazil.

NSK Americas' headquarters and main technical center are in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Mr. Lindsay replaces Tom Rouse, who shouldered much of the blame for NSK's problems caused by the fast-declining North American auto industry and ever-stronger competition from imported components. NSK has been forced into plant closings, manufacturing realignments, layoffs, and had to cut 15% or more at Ann Arbor.

article: NSK U.S. layoffs spread
In an unusual move for NSK -- or indeed any Japanese company operating in the U.S. -- Mr. Lindsay was brought in to the top position as an outsider. He most recently spent ten years with TI Automotive, where he was President of Global Fuel Systems for the last two years; in mid-2008, he was also appointed COO of TI Automotive North America. However, TI simultaneously announced severe cutbacks to all NAFTA market operations and that its headquarters operations would move from Warren, Michigan, to Heidelberg, Germany.

Mr. Lindsay does have a six-degrees-of-separation relationship with the bearing industry. At one point in his career, he was head of T&N plc's Friction Products Group. Federal-Mogul's acquisition of T&N is what drove F-M to sell off most of its engine bearing manufacturing operations. More closely, Federal-Mogul's long and recently-exited bankruptcy was triggered by asbestos liability inherited in its acquisition of that same T&N friction unit.