NMB-Minebea Thai Ltd. (Thailand, a division of Minebea Group, Japan; 5251R9N7) has achieved Boeing's Qualification for special processes at its Lop Buri aircraft bearing plant.

Until now, the only bearing plants certified by Boeing's special processes have been in Japan.

Boeing's certification is an extension of the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (Nadcap) certification for special processes.

Special Processes for bearings - refers to manufacturing and inspection processes, such as heat treat and nondestructive testing, for which the results for a specific part cannot be directly verified. Instead, the process itself must be verified by management, monitoring, and inspection.

Lop Buri's bearing manufacturing had already passed the same qualifications from Airbus.

article: Minebea becomes primary bearing supplier for Airbus A380
With Minebea's aircraft rod end bearing manufacturing facility in Karuizawa now fully online, the company said adding Lop Buri's bearing output, "we will be able to achieve stable supply due to the increase in supply capabilities. Additionally, by reducing costs due to a gain in production efficiencies, shortening delivery times, etc., we will work to improve added values further and secure competitiveness as the only aircraft bearing maker that can meet strict quality requirements at the three poles in Europe, the U.S., and Asia."

Minebea went on to say it will continue to aggressively pursue quality and production qualifications to manufacture aircraft-related components in as many locations as possible.