FIT BEARINGS’ STORY

Founded in 1988 and incorporated in 1990, FIT Bearings’ corporate office is located in Fremont, California, southwest of San Francisco in the Silicon Valley vicinity.

FIT Bearings began sourcing Tapered Roller Bearings out of Dalian, China, in 1989. Our Mounted Units line was launched in 1991 out of Henan, China. In 1992, we started stocking Ball Bearings from multiple factories, including product from one of the largest bearing manufacturers located in Harbin, China. Taiwanese Oil Seals were introduced to the U.S market in 1993, and the FIT Bearings brand trademark was registered in the U.S. in 1994.

By 1995, FIT Bearings had become a standard name in the bearing industry, and was listed in the most comprehensive guide available, the I.B.I. Guide (International Bearing Interchange). This guide allows you to cross-reference Bearings, Mounted Units, Seals, Drive Belts, and Filters quickly and easily. With brands such as Browning, NTN, Torrington, SKF, Timken, NSK, and more, FIT Bearings was honored to be listed alongside such prestigious bearing manufacturers.

FIT Bearings was certified ABEC compliant by Bearing Inspection, Inc. in 1996; this was the stepping stone in our quest for supplying only top quality products. ABEC stands for Annular Bearing Engineers` Committee, who determined the standards for bearings for the Anti-Friction Bearing Manufacturers Association (AFBMA). Founded in 1955, Bearing Inspection, Inc. (Bii) was the world`s leading bearing inspection and reconditioning organization. Headquartered in Los Alamitos, California, Bii operated an 80,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility. Bii provided complete bearing inspection and reconditioning services for some of the most respected companies in the aerospace and industrial sectors. In 2005, Bii was acquired

by The Timken Company.

In 1997, FIT Bearings expanded its product line to include gray and ductile iron castings. We began supplying wheel hubs and other castings to OEMS in the U.S..

FIT Bearings was added to the Thomas Register directory in 1998, listed under the categories of Ball Bearings, Tapered Roller Bearings, Mounted Units, Spherical Roller Bearings, and Split Housings. The Thomas Global is a directory of 700,000 manufacturers and distributors from 28 countries, classified in 11,000 products and services categories. Its mission is to bring industrial buyers and sellers together on the web to facilitate the purchasing process. The Thomas Global can be searched in nine different languages, including Chinese.

To better serve our FIT customers in the Midwest and eastern regions, a sales office was established in Schaumburg, Illinois, in 1999.

An exciting turning point for FIT Bearings occurred in 2000, with the opening of a state-of-the-art Quality Control Center in Shanghai, China. This became FIT Bearings’ overseas hub for all industrial products manufactured there. As the company grew, in 2002, the Schaumburg sales office was relocated to Elgin, Illinois, 40 miles west of Chicago. This provided a new 25,000 square-foot facility for the sales office and distribution center.

Through a strategic alliance with one of the U.S. leaders in wheel-end engineered products, by 2003, FIT Bearings was offering OEMs a new line of heavy-duty bearings for truck and trailer hub/axle assemblies. Growth has been exponential since its inception. FIT Bearings conducts QC testing, including life and materials testing, product evaluation, failure analysis, and the monitoring of how finished goods are shipped, which creates a bond to further meet marketplace demands. In order to meet the market`s strict requirements, our bearings went through rigorous testing, and were approved by the Hangzhou Bearing Test & Research Center. HBRC is an institute engaged in testing and research of a bearing’s dynamic performance and fatigue life. The center possesses advanced test equipment, and a strong technical force. HBRC`s inspection lab has been accredited by CNAS (China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment), and the test data is approbated worldwide.

FIT Bearings continues to thrive in the technology and manufacturing of heavy-duty truck bearings for use in critical applications by industries worldwide.

In 2004, FIT Bearings began supplying bearings and oil seals to Fastenal, the largest fastener distributor in the nation. Fastenal was founded in 1967, and has expanded to become the fastest growing and largest full-line industrial distributor in the nation. They have a fleet of over 275 company-owned semi-trucks and trailers, and over 2,000 stores in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Europe, and China. FIT Bearings became the first bearing and oil seals supplier listed in their 2004 catalog.

DiversityBusiness.com recognized FIT Bearings in 2006, in their 7th annual survey of U.S. businesses. Based on annual gross sales, FIT ranked within the top 100 California minority-owned businesses. DiversityBusiness.com, with over 35,000 members, is the largest organization of diversity-owned businesses throughout the United States. Members provide goods and services to Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies, and colleges & universities. Its research has been recognized and published by Forbes Magazine, Business Week, and thousands of other print and internet publications.

2007 was a triumphant year for FIT Bearings because, not only did we break ground on the construction of our new facility in the Shanghai SongJiang Industrial Zone, which was attended by FIT Bearings’ CEO, staff, and distinguished guests, but we also won a web address action complaint against Ningbo Flight International Industrial Co., Ltd. Filed through the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), their panel agreed with our complaint that Ningbo Flight International Industrial Co., Ltd. registered and used the web address, www.fitbearings.com, in bad faith. FIT Bearings also gained recognition with the WIPO, as shown in the following statement:

FIT Bearings, www.fitbearings.com, has shown sufficient evidence that it has fame and notoriety in China, and that it has substantial business ties with China within the ball bearings and ball rings industry.

In 2008, DiversityBusiness.com selected FIT Bearings as one of the top 500 Asian American Owned Businesses. FIT Bearings earned an award and recognition by distinguishing itself as one of the top entrepreneurs in the country. Named in DiversityBusiness` "Top Business List", which is seen by over 15 million people, and used by Fortune 500 companies and large buying organizations, FIT Bearings was honored to be on the most comprehensive list of the most important segment of America`s economy - privately held companies.

2008 brought more success for FIT. First, the company obtained dual certification by the British UKAS on ISO 9001: 2000 (Quality Management System) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System). Second, ebearing.com, a well-known U.S. based bearing newsletter, published a special report on FIT Bearings’ successful WIPO action suit against Ningbo Flight International Industrial Co. Ltd.(www.ebearing.com/news2008/010801.htm). Finally, FIT Bearings’ headquarters and branch database systems were fully upgraded to the world`s largest enterprise management software, the German SAP enterprise resource planning ERP system. This change helped to expedite order processing, IT, logistics, and inventory management & distribution.

In 2009, FIT Bearings was again placed on the U.S. elite business list of "Asia`s top 500 companies". By 2010, FIT Bearings successfully obtained another ISO:2008 certification, a standard which is based on eight quality management principles. Thousands of companies from hundreds of countries strive for this achievement. This newer certification has more stringent requirements than ISO 9001:2000, and is more compatible with ISO 14001:2004. During the same year, FIT Bearings (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. relocated to their new quality control center operations building in the eastern part of Shanghai`s New Songjiang Industrial Zone. Shanghai`s municipal government classified the new zone as the first industrial zone.

FIT Bearings acquired recertification in 2011 through AQA`s Columbia, SC, branch on both ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004. AQA International (American Quality Assessors) is an accredited registration company with operations around the world that provide standards, registration, and training to companies of all types and sizes.

Due to unfair anti-dumping cases, 2012 posed a real challenge for the tapered roller bearing industry. FIT stepped up and did its part, though, by hiring Dorsey & Whitney LLP to assist Gansu Hailin Technology Co., Ltd. in its win in a U.S. Commerce Department tapered roller bearings anti-dumping case.

During the past couple of years, China experienced some economic trials. For example, in 2013, China’s taxes soared. FIT Bearings (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. paid VAT RMB142 million in its second quarter, a new record high. Then, on July 1, 2014, the Government of Shanghai implemented their new "Land Use Rights" law, which reduced land contracts from 50 to 20+ years. Most companies were affected by this change; however, the new regulation did not effect FIT, because FIT Bearings was considered part of the city`s "National Level of Investors.

FIT Foundry (Maanshan) Company, Ltd., a FIT Bearings company, began its casting production in 2015. The foundry focuses on Gray and Ductile Iron Castings and Precision Machining. The main industries that we serve are agricultural, lawn & garden, construction, mining, and the automotive industry. Some of the products that we make are wheel hubs, planter parts, wheel weights, clamps, spindles, and shafting. Our state-of-the-art equipment consists of Feeler’s CNC machining centers, lathes, grinding equipment, milling machines, drilling machinery, and more. Our annual production capacity is in excess of 1,000,000, and all inquiries are welcome.

Due to the rapid growth of FIT Bearings, there is a need for further expansion to support our daily operations. In early 2018, FIT Bearings (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. will begin construction on its Phase II plant project, which will include an above ground building and underground parking structure. The total construction area will be 9,437 square meters (101,579 sq. ft.), and when completed, will be a multi-functional facility, integrating office space, production and warehousing. Our new project will be in the G60 Science & Technology Innovation Valley, which is approximately 10 kilometers from the highly sought-after Hongqiao Transport Hub area. This location is also advantageous due to its convenient transit access to the Hongqiao Linkong Economic Zone. Upon completion of our Phase II plant inside the Shanghai National Economic Development Zone, FIT Bearings will be in a position to thrive and surge to the next level of success.

On April 9, 2024, the Gansu Economic and Trade Promotion Conference was successfully held in San Francisco, USA. Zhang Jingang, Standing Committee Member and Vice Governor of Gansu Province, Song Guoxuan, Acting Consul General of China in San Francisco, Donna Coulson, Mayor of Burlingham, California, USA, and Marilyn Libors, President of the US-China Silicon Valley Association, attended and delivered speeches. Yang Xiaoping, Director of the Department of Commerce of Gansu Province, presided over the presentation.

Gansu has demonstrated its sincere desire for economic and trade cooperation. Friends from the business communities of Gansu and California will make full use of this platform to continuously promote the expansion, improvement and efficiency of China-Us economic and trade cooperation. During the promotion meeting, a signing ceremony is held with the company, represented by FIT Bearings senior vice president Will Horng. The import and export agreement is signed with Vice Governor Zhang on the spot. The contract amounts to tens of millions of dollars.

Today, FIT Bearings is a multi-million dollar company, with four locations, providing quality products to the United States and other countries around the world. We know what our products are up against, and we are confident that they will withstand the test of time. We strive to earn your business and trust as your components supplier.

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