NEI winner of 2010 Deming Application Prize

NEW DELHI: National Engineering Industries, Ltd., Jaipur (NEI), a CK Birla Group company and manufacturer of leading NBC brand bearings for automotive and industrial segments, has been announced winner of coveted 2010 Deming Application Prize, by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE), Japan, for achieving distinctive performance improvement through the application of Total Quality Management (TQM). Significantly, NEI is the only Indian company among four companies of the world to have been declared winner of the Deming Application Prize in 2010 and the only Indian Bearings manufacturer ever to be awarded this prize. Prior to this, only 19 other Indian companies have bagged the prestigious prize. All the three plants of NEI situated at Jaipur, Newai and Manesar were found eligible for the prize. NEI chief executive officer Rohit Saboo, who will receive the award in a formal award ceremony on November 10, 2010 at Tokyo, said, “This award is recognition of the unrelenting focus of all our employees and partners on quality and reliability. This merciless passion has helped us in continuously meeting or exceeding the ever-growing requirements of our customers and this recognition will further enforce our commitment.” The examination for the Deming Prize includes company’s viewpoint in respect of management leadership, vision and strategies, TQM frameworks, quality assurance systems, management systems for new product development and marketing, human resource development, effective utilization of information technology, cost management, TQM concepts and values, scientific methods etc. NEI manufactures a wide range of bearings (10 mm bore to 1300 mm OD) namely ball and cylindrical roller bearings, double row angular contact bearings, tapered roller bearings for automobiles, railways and industrial applications and large diameter bearings for steel plants and rolling mills. The three plants situated at Jaipur, Newai and Manesar manufacture these products with a 2120-strong team, supported by a well-equipped R&D with bearing life testing facility. NEI is one of the largest domestic bearing manufactures with gross annual turnover of Rs. 800 crore in 2009-10. It enjoys a domestic market share of 25 %. The company exports bearings to more than 20 countries and is also exporting to OEMs in Europe and USA. NEI has grown at a CAGR of 19% since 2007-08. The Deming Prize is a result of NEI’s continuous efforts towards quality and systems improvements. The TQM journey started way back in year 1995 when NEI was certified with ISO-9001. This was followed by QS-9000 in year 2000, TS-16949 in year 2003, Association of American Railroads (AAR) certification AARM-1003 for railway bearings in year 2005 and the TPM Excellence Award in year 2008. Although the Deming Prize was targeted as an important milestone, NEI is committed to an endless journey of continuous improvement through TQM. About NEI National Engineering Industries Ltd., Jaipur, part of the 150 year old, multi-billion dollar C.K. Birla group manufactures a range of bearings for automotive and railway industry as well as for general industrial applications under the brand name NBC Bearings. NEI, founded in the year 1946 as a pioneer industry in the field of bearing manufacture, now manufactures nearly 4.6 Million Bearings per month in over 500 different sizes ranging from 6 mm bore to 1300 mm outer diameter. About Deming Prize/ JUSE The Deming Prize is one of the highest awards on TQM (Total Quality Management) in the world. It was established in 1951 in commemoration of the late Dr. William Edwards Deming who contributed greatly to Japan’s proliferation of statistical quality control after the World War II. His teachings helped Japan build its foundation by which the level of Japan’s product quality has been recognized as the highest in the world. The Deming application prize is an award given to autonomously managed organizations or divisions of organizations that have achieved distinctive performance improvement through the application of company-wide quality control, by Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE)