NSK plans to close UK bearings plant with the possible loss of 220 jobs
1 April 2026 
The Japanese-owned bearings manufacturer NSK Europe has announced plans to close its Newark, Nottinghamshire, plant in the UK which makes industrial bearings, linear guide sliders and self-lubricating bearings. It says that all 220 jobs associated with manufacturing at the site are “at risk” of redundancy, and it has entered into formal collective consultation with its workforce.
NSK Precision UK, located at the same site, which makes precision machinery and parts, is also earmarked for closure. It has no employees of its own.
The proposed closures are part of a global manufacturing review in response to reductions in demand both locally and globally, and the challenges of manufacturing bearings profitably in Europe. It would see production in Newark ending, and products being sourced from elsewhere. The UK sales and group services functions currently located at the Newark site will stay in the area, regardless of the outcome of the consultation.
Should the proposed closure go ahead, UK and European customers will be served from NSK’s European distribution centre in the Netherlands, with items produced at other global locations. NSK has issued an assurance that current levels of supply and service will be maintained.
Support measures have been put in place for the Newark workforce in the form of internal support from management and the human resource department, as well as an employee assistance programme provided by a third party.
The Newark site, also known as the Stanley Works, can trace its history back to 1900, when Allen Ransome moved his woodworking company, Allen Ransome & Co, from London to Newark due to the high cost of land in the capital. In 1906, he decided to produce his own bearings. Bearings have been manufactured at the site ever since.
By 1918, the factory was producing more than 50,000 bearings every month, in part to meet the demand generated by the First World War. During the Great Depression, the woodworking business was sold, and the bearings business, now called Ransome & Marles, took over the Stanley Works site.
Since then, the factory has supplied bearings to everyone from white goods manufacturers to the team behind the Concorde. It also provided bearings for Harrier jump jets, the De Havilland Comet and the first Mini. During the Second World War, bearings from the plant were used in every Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft, as well as Lancaster bombers.
The Stanley Works became a priority target for the German Luftwaffe and, in March 1941, two air raids resulted in the loss of 41 lives. The war also led to the establishment of the site’s own hospital and fire brigade.
Around 1970, the UK Government pressured Ransome and Marles to merge with Hoffmann Manufacturing and the Pollard Ball and Rolling Bearing company to form Ransome Hoffman Pollard (RHP Bearings), which employed 17,500 people across eight factories. In the 1980s, facing fierce competition from Eastern Europe, RHP exited the mass-produced bearings market, no longer making components for products such as fridges and washing machines. In 1987, the board decided to focus on its electrical operations and sold the bearings division.
Three years later, NSK bought the new parent company, UPI (United Precision Industries). Most of the other UK factories were closed and sold off, but production remained in Newark – the only place outside of Asia to manufacture NSK’s Super Precision bearings. At first, RHP continued to operate as an autonomous company, but in 2000, NSK-RHP became NSK.
By 2025, the Stanley Works site’s 125th anniversary, it was still producing around 500,000 bearings a year.
Last November, NSK Europe’s CEO, Dr Ulrich Nass, celebrated the milestone, saying: “Reaching 125 years of continuous production is a remarkable achievement and a testament to the resilience, ingenuity and dedication of the Newark team not just today, but across all those years. The site has played an extraordinary role in the history of British engineering and I’m sure Newark will continue to thrive in the years ahead.”
NSK says that it expects the Newark site to close by March 2027.
Last November, NSK announced plans to close two other UK factories in Peterlee, County Durham, with the loss of around 350 jobs. The sites focused on the automotive market, with Volkswagen and Renault being important customers.
