WHAT’S INSIDE…

Engineering Test Lab Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Brazil SA SAE Conference – GBC Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Design Challenge: Outer Race Rotation Testing . . . . .3

Demand Management . . . . . . . . . . .4

Noteworthy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

gBC FOCUS: COmmeRCIaL VeHICLe maRKet

General Bearing is the market

leader in wheel end tapered

roller bearings for the truck and

trailer industries. For over two

decades we have grown our

business by providing a high

quality product at a competitive

price while making customer

service our top priority. We have

adapted to the changing needs

of our customers by developing

a line of premium stand bearings

for use in hub packages that offer

advanced performance to the

truck industry. We have expanded

our geographic base, growing

our business in South America,

Europe and Asia. We have begun

work on the next expansion of our

product offering by developing

product for axles; specifi cally,

differential side bearings and tandem

axle through shaft bearings.

There are four separate shafts in a

typical tandem rear axle differential,

each supported by two bearings.

As depicted in the diagram, they are:

1 – Through Shaft, 2 – Differential

Case, 3 – Input Shaft, and 4 – Pinion

(a.k.a. Head and Tail bearings). At

this time, based on our Engineering

expertise, manufacturing capabilities,

and experience with the applications,

we are pursuing the Through

Shaft and Differential Side bearing

applications. We currently have

product on test at two major axle

manufacturers. Although we are not

pursuing the Input Shaft or Pinion

(Head and Tail) positions at this time,

long term we will develop products

for these applications, as well.

Pursuing these new applications

is a natural evolution of our

Commercial Vehicle business. The

size range of the product meets our

existing capabilities, we understand

the technology and have the tools

necessary to succeed, and the

customer base already knows us

as a proven supplier of high quality

product.

1

GENERAL BEARING IS THE LEADER IN THE LOW-COST, HIGH QUALITY SUPPLY OF PRECISION BEARING PRODUCTS.

BY PROVIDING THIS VALUE, WE HELP OUR CUSTOMERS REMAIN COMPETITIVE IN THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE.

Newsletter ofGeneral Bearing CorporationAn ISO/TS 16949 Certifi ed CompanyVol. 16, No. 2 Spring 2013

engIneeRIng teSt LaB eXPanSIOn

2

General Bearing Corporation

recently unveiled its new

Engineering Test lab expansion and

Engineering Analysis lab at the West

Nyack Headquarters.

The test lab was built with many

features including sound insulating

walls, energy effi cient lighting, outside

air ventilation, separate devoted

access ways for tooling storage

and equipment

delivery, a

vibration isolated

fl oor slab, and

24 hour video

surveillance of all

test equipment.

Just outside

the test area is

the viewing area

otherwise known

as the “Technol-

ogy hallway”. Two

large windows

allow for viewing

of tests in progress.

A bank of monitors

show test status in real time as test

data and other pertinent information

is collected. Just below the monitors

is a display case showing off many of

General Bearing’s successful designs.

Posters in the hallway explain the lat-

est Engineering technology employed

by GBC design engineers and at our

manufacturing plants.

General Bearing Corporation’s new

Dimension 3D printer is also located

in the Technology hallway. The

printer has been a great aid in tooling

design for the Engineering Test Lab.

(See “Outer Race Rotation Testing,”

page 3).

Along with the new facility, the Test

area has had many new equipment

upgrades. New Labview software has

been employed throughout. A test

stand has been completely retrofi tted

with a new variable speed AC drive,

one servo drive, oil cooling, vibration

monitoring and torque measuring

capabilities.

A General Bearing designed ex-

terior drive system has been

added to the GBC Environ-

mental chamber to test for

bearing torque under

varying temperatures.

The QA lab expansion

added more room for the

well outfi tted lab, both for

the existing equipment and

future additions. Also, a

brand new HVAC system

was installed to improve

the lab’s ability to maintain

a constant temperature

and humidity.

The Engineering

Analysis lab features the

latest in microscope technology.

Bearings that have gone through

testing can be fully disassembled and

examined.

For more photographs and

details, please visit our web site at

www.generalbearing.com.

gBC PaRtICIPateS In tHe BRaZIL S.a. Sae COnFeRenCe

DESIGN CHALLENGE:

OUteR RaCe ROtatIOn teStIng

3

GBC participated in the 2012 SAE

Brazil International Suspension

and Trailer Conference in Caxias Do

Sul, Brazil. This conference brings

together all the major heavy duty

truck and trailer manufacturers and

suppliers in Brazil. GBC was honored

to be invited for the fi rst time.

The GBC exhibition booth was

set up to promote the General

Bearing and Hyatt brands. Individual

conferences were held with interested

customers to emphasize GBC

engineering, sales, and manufacturing

processes.

Enrique Negus, South American Re-

gional Sales Manager, and Rick

Janssens, OEM Sales Manager,

were impressed with the high

level of interest in our products

and current applications. Rick

commented, “It was a great

opportunity to, both meet

potential new customers, and

reinforce relationships with our

current customers.” Brazilian

trucks and trailers are built on

many of the same engineering

standards used in North Ameri-

ca. Current commercial vehicle

customers in Brazil include Suspensys,

Randon, ZF, Agnale and MAN.

General Bearing Engineering

recently developed a new test

method for an outer ring rotation

application in a transmission.

Using the 3D modeling program

AutoCAD Inventor, the Engineering

team quickly went from concept to

design. Our customer was able to

review and understand the design and

granted a quick approval.

As the design phase neared

completion, the major components of

the tooling were printed on the GBC

Dimension SST 1200es 3D printer

and could be functionally

checked for form and

interaction with other

components. Some slight

tweaks came out of the

design review and hard

tooling was ordered.

The design features the

test bearing mounted on a stationary

shaft with the entire bearing mounted

within the load bearing. This allows the

test bearing outer race to rotate with

the load bearing’s inner race.

The stationary shaft will

be fi tted with thermocouple

probes that will detect

temperatures at the inner

ring surface.

The test setup features

materials and tolerances

to match the customer’s

application. In this case, the

shaft is aluminum which has a

higher coeffi cient of thermal expansion

than steel. The effects from that will be

studied allowing for both application

analysis and bearing design validation

in the same test.

For more photographs and

details, please visit our web site at

www.generalbearing.com.

marCelo KUVer, SUSPenSYS

CommerCial manager (leFT), anD

enriQUe negUS, regional SaleS

manager (rigHT)

GENERAL BEARING CORPORATION44 High Street, West Nyack, New York 10994 Tel: 845-358-6000 Fax: 845-358-6277 www.generalbearing.com

Donald Paoli, Senior Demand Manager, is a key member of General Bearing Corporation’s Sales

& Operations Planning (S&OP) team, the central process that General Bearing utilizes to run its op-erations.

It is Don’s responsibility to run the Demand Meet-ing during which he presents monthly updates to the current company forecast. To be successful, Don is constantly talking with all members of the Sales and Marketing team, analyzing data from customers and outside forecasting sources, and balancing all of the input to produce a plan by which the rest of the company can operate. Don has also taken on many other ancillary responsibilities, such as leading our new part introduction meet-ings and representing sales during internal process meetings.

Don’s long career with General Bearing Corporation started in 1975. During the late 70’s Don held key management positions in Inventory Control, Custom-er Service and Advertising. In 1979, he was promoted to Director of Purchasing where for the next 20 years he would work extensively with our worldwide suppliers.

Don’s vast experience and attention to detail make him a valuable resource for the company and a mentor for his coworkers.

Don earned his BA at Iona College and his Masters in Finance at Long Island University. He is a long time resident of Rockland County, NY, where he lives with his wife Mary and family.

DonalD Paoli, Senior DemanD

manager

4

DemanD management

General Bearing’s Demand Managers, Don Paoli and Jim Gifford, are re-

sponsible for maintaining an 18-month sales forecast for each of the products that we sell, and for balancing actual demand against that forecast as orders are placed by our customers. Our abil-ity to produce an accurate forecast over the planning horizon, and to properly adjust when the real world challenges us, is essential for maintaining our excel-lent On-Time delivery performance with customers. The result is that General Bearing consistently scores 100% on customer issued scorecards, and 99% on our own more challenging internal measurements.

As their main tool, the Demand Manag-ers use Demand Solutions Forecast Management soft-ware. This robust forecasting suite allows us to gener-ate a base statistical forecast, document assumptions about the current sales en-vironment, and to track manual changes as we react to information we receive from many sources. The resulting final forecast is then uploaded to the com-pany’s ERP system where it is used to plan our operational activities.

We have enhanced the forecast reporting capabilities of our ERP sys-tem so that all members of our Sales & Operations Planning team have the necessary information they need to keep the company functioning at a high level. An example of these extensions is the system’s capability to hold monthly snapshots of the forecast and detail MRP data so that product planning per-formance can be measured at various time fences. To be successful we believe we must be able to have accurate sales forecasts and manufacturing plans sev-eral months before we must actually ex-

ecute them. Our snapshot system allows us to measure these long-range planning capabilities and confidently set the proper inventory level for each of our products.

Not only do we measure our own ca-pabilities, but we also track the forecasts that our customers provide us and com-pare them to actual results. We feel that it is essential to understand the accuracy of this data so that we can properly weigh its influence in building the next revision to our sales forecast. We routinely produce Customer Report Cards to share these findings with our customer partners with the goal of gaining efficiencies in the over-all process and thereby improving our

valuable business relationships.The company’s excellent order

promising capabilities and commitment to always having inventory available for an unforeseen surge in the marketplace ensures that we are able to support our customer’s dynamic needs. While the primary role of analyzing data is performed by our Demand Managers, the complete process of gathering, updating, and analyzing variations in customer demand is a company-wide project including contributions from field sales, customer service, industry managers, and outside forecasting services. The end

result is truly a team effort.