Steyr, Austria, March 2022. Bearing specialist NKE Austria GmbH has a new Managing Director: Matthias Ortner, previously the Deputy Managing Director, was appointed Managing Director of the Steyr-based bearing manufacturer with effect from 2022.
“In this role, Matthias Ortner will continue to drive NKE Austria’s business operations forward in the same proven, reliable manner, while aligning the company to enable still greater innovation and more agile response,” says Carlos Oehling, CEO of the Spanish parent company Fersa Bearings, who performed the function of Managing Director during a transitional period with Ortner as his deputy. “We are confident that with the knowledge, values and talents he possesses, he is amply capable of taking on the responsibility of his new function and continuing to advance the development and growth of NKE in the coming years.”
Ortner joined NKE in 2018 as Director of Finance, gained further experience as HR Director and Head of Supply Chain Management, and since October 2020 he has served as Deputy Managing Director. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Management from the Management Center Innsbruck, a Master’s degree in Controlling, Accounting and Finance from the FH Oberösterreich and completed an advanced course in Digital Transformation at Stanford University in the USA. After his studies, he worked as a business consultant for Ernst & Young.
“The company’s orientation has been streamlined in the last few years, and now it must be directed still more intensively to target profitable niche markets,” says Ortner. “At NKE, we are completely and totally committed to transition to a more sustainable (bearings) world. It is our mission to become a leading driver of innovation in green industries such as wind power or rail transport, and thus actively shape the change we want to see. We intend to develop our strong ‘Made in Austria’ brand further, and for this reason we will also make more substantial investment in the digitalization of production and the most advanced quality assurance methods. At the same time, we can only achieve these objectives by recruiting the best talent and offering our employees agile structures and the room they need in order to flourish. The difference between us and other employers is quite clearly that we give promising young employees the chance to take responsibility early, and we invest in targeted further development and training.”
Apart from serving the wind power and rail transport sectors, NKE produces standard and special bearings for all industrial applications. Engineering, product development, production and final processing of components, assembly, quality assurance, logistics, and sales and marketing are centralized at its Steyr headquarters. A comprehensive range of standard bearings is available from stock or can be produced with short lead times. Solutions are developed and manufactured for special requirements as well. In addition to product development and application engineering, NKE provides a full range of technical services, consulting, documentation and training.
Company information
NKE Austria GmbH is a bearing manufacturer with headquarters in Steyr, Austria. The company was founded in 1996 by a group of senior staff members of former company Steyr Wälzlager. Spanish bearing manufacturer Fersa Bearings, which is specialized in the automotive sector, acquired 49 percent in NKE in 2016 and completed the acquisition with 100 percent at the end of 2018. NKE offers both standard and special bearings for all industrial applications. Engineering, product development, production and final processing of components, assembly, quality assurance, logistics, and sales and marketing are centralized at its Steyr headquarters. The factory in Steyr is certified to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018. A wide range of standard bearings is available from stock or at short production lead-times. NKE also provides customized products and solutions. In addition to product development and application engineering NKE provides a full range of technical services, consulting, documentation and training. NKE’s products are distributed through 12 international offices and more than 240 distribution outlets in 80 countries.
