In a landmark strategic shift, NRB Bearings Ltd, India's premier needle roller bearing manufacturer, has announced a pivotal joint venture with Italy's Unitec Group. The partnership, unveiled on 1 December 2025, signals the company's official and long-awaited entry into the industrial cylindrical roller bearings segment, marking one of the most significant strategic moves in its nearly 60-year history.
A Legacy Unbound: The Road to Industrial Expansion
For Chairperson and Managing Director Harshbeena Zaveri, this joint venture represents the culmination of a personal and professional journey. Having joined NRB in 1986 after graduating from Wellesley College, Zaveri chose to start her career on the shop floor of the Thane plant. This experience forged her philosophy of "Innovation in India, not just Make in India," leading her to build NRB around deep engineering, endurance testing, and co-development with global customers.
Despite building NRB into a global automotive bearings supplier, Zaveri consciously avoided the industrial bearings business for decades. This space was historically associated with her brother's company, following an informal demarcation set by her father. The resolution of family ownership disputes earlier in 2025, which saw Zaveri buy out her brother, finally freed NRB from these inherited constraints, paving the way for the current expansion.
The Strategic Partnership: Capabilities and Market Access
The joint venture with Unitec Group, part of the Mondial Group, is structured with NRB holding at least a 75% stake and Unitec owning up to 25%. Unitec brings six decades of expertise in high-precision industrial bearings, supplying major European original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like Bonfiglioli, SAME, Leonardo, and ITEMA.
The manufacturing for this venture will be based at a new LEED-certified facility in Uppal, Hyderabad. A key element of the agreement is Unitec's commitment to purchase 20% of the JV's annual output, providing immediate validation and an anchor for market entry. The partnership includes exclusive selling rights for NRB to distribute JV and Unitec products in India, while Unitec will represent the JV in Italy. Non-compete clauses prevent either partner from independently entering the industrial cylindrical bearings business in the other's country.
Financial Strength and Market Ambition
NRB enters this new phase from a position of robust financial health. For the September 2025 quarter, the company reported a 7.86% year-on-year revenue increase to ₹325.20 crore, with net profit rising 15.22% to ₹40.63 crore. The company has sustained impressive EBITDA margins above 20%, which Zaveri attributes to being paid for engineering solutions—failure-mode analysis, simulations, and warranties—not just components.
Analysts view the move as strategically timed. Raghunandhan N.L., Executive Director at Nuvama Institutional Equities, noted that the JV will bolster NRB's position in industrial cylindrical bearings. He emphasized that scaling up in the industrial segment will be gradual but well-supported by NRB's established engineering and testing infrastructure. The company's guidance forecasts revenue reaching ₹25 billion by 2030-31, driven by a 13% compound annual growth rate from industrial expansion, global OEM programs, and sustained automotive sector growth.
With the Indian bearings market estimated at over $6 billion and NRB's current domestic revenue around $120 million, the potential for growth is substantial. The company already commands dominant market shares—75% in needle bearings and 56% in cylindrical bearings—with key OEM clients including Honda, TVS, Bajaj, Royal Enfield, Tata Motors, John Deere, and Hyundai.
This strategic leap with Unitec is more than a business expansion for NRB Bearings; it is a reclamation of ambition and a decisive step into a future where its engineering DNA, nurtured by Harshbeena Zaveri from her first day on the shop floor, can finally explore its full potential in the vast industrial landscape.
