CW Bearing opens in Detroit

China's leading maker of ball bearings now has a facility near the center of the US automotive industry.

CW Bearing USA, a subsidiary of China's Cixing Group Co Ltd, held a grand opening for its headquarters and technical center in Northville Township, Michigan, on Friday.

The new headquarters will replace the company's previous headquarters in Tustin, California, and house the engineering, sales and executive staff.

The $25.9 million plant is expected to create 125 jobs and is supported by a $550,000 performance-based grant from the state and a property-tax abatement from Northville.

"The grand opening today is a compelling new quest for the company. The quest is to set up our new vision, new strategy and new goal for our long-term growth," CW Bearing USA's President and CEO Lirong Hu said during the ceremony.

Founded in 1984 in Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province by current company president Hu Xiangen, Cixing Group Co Ltd specializes in the development and production of a wide range of premium-quality ball bearings for electrical motors, gearboxes, power tools and the automotive industry.

As one of the 10 largest producers of ball bearings in China, the company possesses a worldwide sales and distribution network in Asia, Europe, North America and Latin America.

According to Hu, CW Bearing USA's customers include a dozen Fortune 500 companies, including toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker.

"We have successfully opened a market in automotive. We earned business from Nexteer, ZF-TRW, JTEKT, Mando and many others. Today, our business consists of 70 percent revenue in automotive and 30 percent in industries," Hu said.

With the phase one investment in the new headquarters and manufacturing space, Hu said the company is ready to embark on new business.

"We are ready for both automotive and industrial customers with the capacity and capabilities in designing, testing, engineering, grinding and assembling components and parts here in Northville," he said.

"With the planned phase II investment and production capacity, our goal is to achieve $500 million sales in North America by 2025," he added.

The company has developed its strategy to continue organic growth by adding manufacturing capacity in North America.

The company also has started expanding through mergers and acquisitions. Earlier this month, CW Bearing USA acquired Drake Manufacturing Inc of Warren, Ohio, for $2.1 million. Drake, a global designer and builder of production systems for makers of parts with threads, has been in business for 45 years.

With Drake now in the CW Bearing fold, Hu said it will help the company build a solid foundation to ensure customers a supply of high-quality parts.

"We had planned to invest at least another $10 million in North America, especially in Michigan and in other suitable markets. We will implement our strategy in advanced manufacturing and assembling components for our customers in local markets," he said.