NRB Bearings Limited, a manufacturer of bearings and motion-technology components, has signed a joint venture agreement with Unitec S.r.L and Mondial S.p.A of Italy to establish a new company to manufacture cylindrical roller bearings (CRBs) for the industrial segment in India. The JV will be located in Uppal, Hyderabad, and is intended to supply a wide range of CRB sizes for industrial applications and, if agreed, specified mobility applications.
The company said in a stock exchange filing that NRB will hold a minimum 75 percent of the JV’s equity while Unitec may hold up to 25 percent, subject to regulatory approvals. The filing states Unitec Group will provide technical and operational support for manufacturing, and has committed to a buyback of 20 percent of the JV company’s production.
According to the filing, the JV’s board will initially comprise four directors — three appointed by NRB and one nominated by Unitec — with the board able to expand to five members. Key corporate actions including capital changes, share issues, major borrowings, mergers, related-party transactions, budget approvals and dividend declarations will require board approval under the terms disclosed. Post investment by NRB, the JV company will become a subsidiary of NRB and therefore a related party of the listed entity.
The filing notes commercial arrangements to avoid channel conflict: the parties have agreed not to compete in the manufacture, distribution or sale of industrial CRBs in India. Unitec will act as exclusive selling agent for the JV’s industrial CRB range in Italy and to its existing customers, while NRB will be the exclusive selling agent for the JV and Unitec Group in India.
Unitec and the Mondial Group are described in the filing as having more than 60 years of operating history and annual revenues exceeding EUR 60 million, and as suppliers of application-specific bearing solutions to OEMs across sectors such as industrial gearboxes, agricultural machinery, defence and aerospace, textile machinery and steel manufacturing.
NRB Bearings Limited is an Indian bearing manufacturer that supplies bearings and related components for automotive and industrial applications.
Unitec S.r.L. and Mondial S.p.A., both based in Italy, are part of the Mondial Group, which has operated in the power transmission and specialised bearing industry since 1946. Its customers include Bonfiglioli in industrial gearboxes, SAME in agricultural machinery, Leonardo in defence and aerospace, ITEMA in textile machinery and MAINA in steel manufacturing.
