Harshbeena Zaveri - Managing Director
NRB Bearings Limited
Strategic collaboration to deliver high-precision industrial bearing solutions in India
A New Chapter in India’s Industrial Bearings Landscape
NRB Bearings Limited has announced a landmark Joint Venture Agreement with Unitec S.r.L. and Mondial S.p.A. collectively known as the Unitec Group to establish a new Joint Venture Company in India.
The agreement was formally signed by Harshbeena Zaveri, Managing Director of NRB Bearings Lim-ited, marking a significant milestone in the company’s strategic global collaboration journey.
This partnership signals a decisive step toward strengthening India’s capabilities in high-precision in-dustrial bearings, particularly for critical and high-performance applications across sectors.
At a time when India’s manufacturing sector is expanding rapidly under Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives, this partnership aligns global engineering expertise with local manufacturing strength — a move expected to reshape the country’s industrial bearing ecosystem.
Bringing Italian Precision to Indian Manufacturing
Unitec S.r.L., part of the Mondial Group, is widely regarded as one of Italy’s most reputed independ-ent bearing manufacturers. With more than 60 years of operating history and annual revenues ex-ceeding €60 million, the group has established itself as a leader in motion-technology solutions and engineered components.
The Unitec Group’s strength lies in:
- Advanced engineering expertise
- Customization capabilities for application-specific solutions
- Deep integration with OEM requirements
- Long-standing industrial partnerships across Europe
Unitec delivers high-precision industrial bearing solutions to globally recognized OEMs such as:
- Bonfiglioli (Industrial Gearboxes)
- SAME (Agricultural machinery)
- Leonardo (Defense & Aerospace)
- ITEMA (Textile machinery)
- MAINA (Steel manufacturing)
By entering India through a joint venture with NRB, Unitec brings its application-specific, high-precision bearing expertise to one of the world’s fastest-growing industrial markets.
NRB’s Strategic Expansion: Beyond Automotive
NRB Bearings Limited is already one of India’s leading manufacturers of friction solutions, primarily serving the automotive sector. However, the company has been actively pursuing diversification into high-value industrial applications.
Under the leadership of Harshbeena Zaveri, NRB has steadily strengthened its innovation-led growth strategy, investing in advanced technologies, capacity expansion, and deeper OEM partnerships both domestically and globally.
This joint venture reinforces NRB’s long-term strategy of:
- Expanding its industrial bearing portfolio
- Increasing value-added product offerings
- Enhancing R&D-led innovation
- Reducing dependency on cyclical automotive demand
With GST reforms expected to further streamline industrial supply chains and improve logistics efficiency across states, the timing of this partnership is strategically aligned with broader structural tailwinds in Indian manufacturing.
The collaboration is expected to accelerate capacity expansion, product localization, and faster market penetration in industrial segments such as:
- Heavy engineering
- Renewable energy
- Aerospace & defense
- Industrial automation
- Agricultural equipment
Technology Transfer & Localization: A Powerful Combination
The joint venture is not merely a distribution agreement — it is a technology-led collaboration. By combining:
- Unitec’s precision engineering and European design expertise
- NRB’s manufacturing scale, local market knowledge, and distribution network
The partnership aims to create a strong indigenous capability for high-precision bearings that meet global standards.
This approach supports:
- Import substitution
- Faster turnaround for OEM customers
- Custom-built solutions tailored to Indian operating conditions
- Enhanced competitiveness for Indian manufacturers globally
The JV is expected to operate with a strong R&D backbone, ensuring continuous innovation in metallurgy, lubrication systems, and performance optimization.
Strengthening India’s Position in Global Supply Chains
India’s growing role in global supply chains has opened new opportunities for component manufacturers. High-precision bearings are critical components in machinery, aerospace assemblies, defense systems, and heavy industrial applications.
By leveraging Unitec’s established global customer relationships and NRB’s cost-efficient manufacturing base, the joint venture has the potential to:
- Serve domestic OEMs
- Export to Europe and other international markets
- Position India as a hub for precision industrial bearings
Looking Ahead
As the joint venture takes shape, industry observers will be watching for:
- Manufacturing footprint decisions
- Investment scale and timelines
- New product launches
- Export market integration
In an era where precision, reliability, and customization define competitive advantage, this Indo-Italian partnership — formalized under the leadership of Harshbeena Zaveri — could well become a benchmark model for future cross-border industrial collaborations.
For More Information:
www.nrbbearings.com
