On Monday evening, September 17, 2018, BSA President, Jim Scardina, Bearing Headquarters, presented the Annual BSA Excellence Awards for outstanding service by bearing distributors and bearing manufacturers to the end use customer. The Bearing Manufacturer Excellence of Innovation in Product Design Award recognizes companies for innovation and excellence in product design or technology. BSA distributor members reviewed and ranked manufacturer innovation submissions. Among the abundance of innovative product designs submitted, three submissions were chosen to be recognized for their outstanding service to the end use customer.

 

The first Manufacturer Excellence Award was presented to NTN Bearing Corporation of America for the Sentinel Series. This is NTN Bearing Corporation of America’s second Manufacturer Excellence Award. Beyond NTN’s world renown bearing quality, they have the capability of offering unique solutions to their customers’ needs. One way they seek solutions to bearing problems is to look further, to the application itself, and see how NTN can assist and offer solutions that the customer may never have considered. NTN’s Sentinel Series is a product line born from understanding the applications within the Food and Beverage industry.

NTN’s Sentinel Series is a premium line of corrosion-resistant products developed for the harsh conditions of the food & beverage industry. With available products ranging from deep groove ball bearings to bearing inserts to mounted units available in numerous combinations of housings, protective covers, grease and sealing options, Sentinel Series provides a family of Food and Beverage market solutions to improve overall equipment effectiveness, increase production, and provide value.

Scott Eiss, vice president, industrial aftermarket sales of NTN Bearing Corporation accepted the Award on behalf of NTN Bearing Corporation for the Sentinel Series.  

The second Manufacturer Excellence Award was presented to Regal Power Transmission Solutions for the Sealmaster Time Saving Axial Groove Mounted Ball Bearing. The Sealmaster Time Saving Axial Groove Mounted Ball Bearing is available in both a medium 2 7/16” and up and standard 2 11/16” and up shaft sizes, the Time Saving axial groove in the inner ring bore allows for easier bearing removal. This design provides clearance from the burr created by the setscrew used to lock the bearing to the shaft, which makes removal difficult and can cause damage to the shaft during removal. This reduction in damage to the shaft not only then reduces the cost associated with repairing the shaft before reuse, it can eliminate the cost of having to replace the shaft.

This is the only bearing product on the market that has an axial groove on the inner ring bore that provides clearance from the burr created by setscrews. The Time Saving Axial Groove design allows customers to remove their bearings in the field quicker, reducing the amount of extended downtime during bearing removal and saving customers money on shafting replacement costs.

Chad Hartley, vice president and business leader - bearings and components for Regal Power Transmission Solutions accepted the Award on behalf of Regal Power Transmission Solutions for the Sealmaster Time Saving Axial Groove Mounted Ball Bearing. 

The third Manufacturer Excellence Award for outstanding service to the end use customer was presented to The Timken Company for the Timken Type E Tapered Roller Bearing Housed Unit Secondary Sealing System. Timken recently made the most robust sealing system in the industry for Type E Housed Unit mounted bearings even better. This product offers an unrivaled multipoint sealing system with 9 points of sealing.

The upgraded triple-barrier internal seal provides two contact lips and one rigid middle labyrinth section to help retain grease and reduce contamination ingress. New enhanced seal material helps provide greater performance with two times more abrasion resistance than the industry standard nitrile seal. The locking collar and grease in cavity of the end cover provide additional sealing protection as well as a triple-lip external rubber through shaft seal. The external seal secondary cover closes it all into the unit.

The Timken unrivaled multi-point sealing system helps the Type E mounted bearing last longer against contamination and moisture. It also provides housed units with extra protection for rugged, cost-effective covers designed to fight heavy contamination in industries where particulates are a challenge. This system helps keep your bearings performing, even in harsh, dirty applications with the higher abrasion-resistant triple-barrier internal seal.

A sand and gravel company in Alaska installed Timken Type E Tapered Roller Bearing Housed Unit Secondary Sealing System for their inclined screw conveyor. The bearings were installed as a pilot at the end of 2015. Previous bearing life before the Type E with end covers was four months. Since installing the Timken Type E with covers bearings ran successfully for approximately two years.

Doug Knauf, vice president of US Distribution and Regional OEMs of The Timken Company, accepted the Award on behalf of The Timken Company for the Timken Type E Tapered Roller Bearing Housed Unit Secondary Sealing System. 

The 2018 BSA CBS Excellence Awards recognized BSA Distributor Companies with the highest percentage of their inside and outside sales force’s having attained CBS status as well as the greatest percentage increase of its inside and outside sales force having attained Certified Bearing Specialist status. BSA’s Certified Bearing Specialist (CBS) program is the only bearing industry-specific program that identifies and quantifies the specific skill sets to certify an industry professional as a bearing specialist. 

BSA recognized a company with an Honorable Mention for this Award.  B&D Industrial received special recognition for the number of Certified Bearing Specialists within their sales force.  

The CBS Excellence Award recognizes the esteemed regard of the CBS designation and the industry as a whole.  

The recipient of both of the 2018 CBS Excellence Awards for outstanding service to the bearing end use customer was BDI Canada Inc. Giovanni Chiricosta, vice president of sales, of BDI Canada, Inc. accepted the award for BDI Canada.