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Chinese bearing makers are out in full force this year at the Hannover Fair. By my count there are at least a couple of dozen companies in a cluster of small stands that make up the Chinese Pavilion in Hall 24.
Many have colorful names that are not-so-subtle marketing messages in themselves, like "Billion Strong Bearing" and "Ningbo Better Bearing Company." But I wondered how these companies can possibly differentiate their offerings among a sea of seemingly similar products.
Lower cost is presumably a given, as no one typically looks to outsource parts unless there is an economic incentive. But I was surprised how much the message has changed in only a few years, with Chinese marketers sounding more and more like their Western counterparts in their sales pitch.
"We offer a high grade product, good service and a full line of bearing products," says Jin Xuan, Executive Director of the Ningbo Better Bearing Co, Ltd. He says the company, which has been coming to the Hannover Fair since 1999, is hoping that marketing message will help further increase exports to Europe and North America, which represent only a small fraction of the company's overall revenue today. To help attract those new customers, he's also counting on the company's ISO certification and tight quality control.
Michael Liu, marketing manager at HL Bearings, says his company's broad product line includes tapered roller bearings, ball bearings and cylindrical bearings. He also emphasizes its capability to produce custom products, grabbing a tapered bearing with no inner ring off a shelf to show me as physical evidence. He says the company had roughly $50M U.S. in exports last year, mostly to the U.S., and is hoping to expand sales in Europe in the future.
Wuxi Wanda's Greg Chen is proud of the fact that his company's prices are actually higher than other Chinese bearing makers. "Most people think that Chinese products are cheap, and we're trying to change that perception," he says. "Our philosophy is to make high-quality products, and look for opportunities to add value." He says the company, which makes precision-tapered roller bearings, cylindrical bearings and spindle bearings, has quadrupled its U.S. exports over the past five years and hopes to repeat that growth in the next five years.
The only person to allude to lower cost at all was David Soon, managing director at Supersun Industrial Ltd. The small company ($1M U.S. in revenue) based in Northern China sells ball bearings into lower end applications, which do not require precision products. When asked about what differentiates his company from the others, he says they are "very competitive on price."
| Product Model | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Thickness |
| HCB71922C.2RSD.T.P4S bearing | 110 | 150 | 20 |
| B7026E.2RSD.T.P4S bearing | 130 | 200 | 33 |