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Robotics Sets the Industry’s Next Direction

The bearing industry has always followed the machines it serves. Today those machines are increasingly becoming robots. Industrial arms, collaborative robots, mobile platforms and, more and more, humanoids are creating requirements that barely existed a decade ago: higher precision, lower friction, less weight, and more intelligence built into every joint. What was long a specialised niche is now developing into one of the most promising growth markets for our industry.

In this edition of BearingNews Magazine, we place robotics at the centre. Our cover analysis, Bearings for Robotics – Future Outlook & Analysis, examines how industrial robots, cobots, mobile systems and humanoids are reshaping demand for precision bearings. It looks at the technologies driving this shift, from crossed-roller and thin-section bearings to precision reducer and sensorized designs, and at what the addressable market could realistically look like between now and 2050.

We also meet the people behind the technology. Mondial marks its 80th anniversary, and the Bandelli family reflects on how three generations turned a post-war distributor into a mechatronics specialist. We speak with Kael Zhang of FACB and Varun Sood of Technymon about advanced composite materials, and with Elif Cakir of Carter Manufacturing about precision engineering in flight-critical applications.

Alongside these conversations, the issue follows innovation across the value chain, from intelligent inspection and magnetic bearing technology to smarter lubrication, custom solutions for the most demanding environments, and simulation tools that prepare factories for a more autonomous future.

What’s Rolling..

What’s rolling across our industry is a growing understanding that no company moves forward alone. The World Power Transmission Association is building an international framework for cooperation across the whole power transmission value chain, while BearingCloud is evolving from an inventory marketplace into a digital trade infrastructure for a market under pressure from tariffs, uncertainty and shifting supply chains.

The next meeting point is Belgrade. From 17–19 March 2027, the Bearing & Power Transmission World Meetings will bring the global community together once again for B2B matchmaking, the International Reliability Improvement Forum, the WorldPTA Annual Meeting and the Exhibition. Six pillars, one purpose: connecting the entire value chain.

Enjoy this new edition!