What Bunting Bearings, LLC does

Bunting Bearings, LLC is a US-based manufacturer of bronze and powdered metal bearings, founded in 1907 and headquartered in Holland, Ohio. The company operates as one of the largest producers of bronze bearings in the United States, with a vertically integrated manufacturing footprint spanning cast bronze (continuous, centrifugal, and permanent mold), powder metallurgy (sintered bronze and iron-copper), and engineered plastics (Nylon, PTFE, Vespel). All powdered metal production is performed in-house—proprietary powder blending, hydraulic pressing, and vacuum sintering—yielding a claimed 0.1% defect rate versus an industry average of 2-5%.

The company sells primarily through a network of over 40 preferred distributor partners across North America—including Applied Industrial Technologies, Motion Industries, McMaster-Carr, BDI, and Kaman Industrial—rather than via direct list pricing, and uses an RFQ-driven sales model for both catalog and custom machined products. Its customer base spans ten industrial segments including automotive, aerospace, food processing, medical devices, heavy equipment, marine, energy/utilities, and military/defense, with key value propositions centered on lead-free and high-temperature bearing solutions such as ECO BRONZE C87850 (a cost-competitive lead-free alternative to C93200/SAE660) and Dri-Plane (operable to 700°F).

Recent strategic activity has concentrated on capacity and capability expansion: in 2018-2019 the company launched ECO BRONZE, expanded its Delta, OH centrifugal casting plant, acquired six Samsung CNC turning lathes with live tooling, and installed a Siemens Dematic automated warehouse system at its Holland, OH headquarters. Manufacturing operations span four US facilities (Holland, OH; Delta, OH; Portage, MI; Mansfield, OH) plus a service/sales center in Houston, TX. The company is privately held (LLC, Ohio-domiciled), ISO 9001:2015 certified, and references AS9100 (aerospace) and ISO 13485 (medical) quality standards.

Name

Bunting Bearings, LLC

Legal name

Bunting Bearings, LLC

Website

https://buntingbearings.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1907

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Bunting Bearings, LLC, founded in 1907 and based in Ohio, is a US manufacturer of bronze, powdered metal, and engineered plastic bearings. Operating four manufacturing plants and serving as one of the largest US bronze bearing producers, it supplies industrial OEMs through a 40+ distributor network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Holland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Bronze and Powdered Metal Bearing Products: Bunting Bearings manufactures and distributes a complete line of bronze bearings (cast, continuous cast, centrifugal cast), powdered metal bearings, engineered plastic bearings, and custom machined products. Products are sold as standard stocked items and custom-engineered solutions. Revenue is generated through direct sales to distributors and end users, and through a network of preferred distributors across North America.
2. Custom Machined Products: CNC machining services for custom bearing and bushing solutions. The company operates 6 Samsung CNC turning lathes with live tooling (including a robotized cell for high-volume and a manual cell for low-volume runs), 5 live tooling machining centers, and a vertical turret lathe. Custom orders are quoted on a per-project basis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Bunting Bearings, LLC manufactures and distributes a complete range of bronze bearings (cast, continuous cast, centrifugal cast, permanent mold), powdered metal (sintered) self-lubricating bearings, engineered plastic bearings, and custom machined bearing components. The company operates with full vertical integration including in-house casting, CNC machining, and powder metallurgy (100% in-house PM production), serving industrial OEMs and distributors across automotive, aerospace, food processing, medical devices, heavy equipment, off-highway/construction, marine, energy/utilities, military/defense, and oil and gas sectors through a network of over 40 preferred distributors across North America and a direct RFQ online catalog.

Product overview

Bunting Bearings, LLC is a manufacturer and distributor of precision bronze bearings and related metal products, founded in 1907 and headquartered in Holland, Ohio. The company operates as one of the largest producers of bronze bearings in the United States, with vertically integrated manufacturing including in-house casting, CNC machining, and powder metallurgy capabilities. The product portfolio consists of two primary categories: cast and powdered metal (sintered) bronze bearings. Cast bronze bearings are produced from continuous cast, centrifugal cast, and permanent mold methods, offering higher strength for heavy-duty applications. Powdered metal bearings use a sintering process to create self-lubricating, oil-impregnated components ideal for high-volume production. The product line is organized around ten core offerings: Cast Bronze Bearings; Continuous Cast Solid, Cored, Wearplate and Centrifugal Cast Bronze Bar; ECO BRONZE C87850 Lead-Free Bearings and Bars; Custom Machined Products; Powdered Metal Bearings and Thrust Washers; Powdered Metal Bars, Discs and Plates; Powdered Metal Structural Products; Lube-Align Mounted Bearings; Engineered Plastic Bearings; and Permanent Mold Products. Key sub-products include Dri-Plane high-temperature dry-lubricated bearings (up to 700 degrees F) and BB-16 heavy-load iron-copper powdered metal bearings. Engineered plastic bearings include Nylon, PTFE, Vespel SP-21, Nylatron, and BU bimetallic composites. All metal products are manufactured in the USA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ECO BRONZE C87850: Lead-free bronze alloy bearing material that is RoHS compliant and meets lead-free safe drinking water act requirements. First cost competitive alternative to C93200 (SAE660).
• BB16
• Dri-Plane

Products and services

• Cast Bronze Bearings Cast bronze sleeve and flanged bearings manufactured from continuous or centrifugal cast bronze bar stock using traditional machining methods, maintaining finer grain structure and higher strength than powdered metal alternatives for heavy-duty applications involving heavy loads, high-impact environments, and compressive forces.
• Continuous Cast Bronze Bar Stock Bronze bar stock in solid, cored, wearplate, and centrifugal cast configurations used as raw material for bearings and custom machined components. Available in alloys including C93200, C93700, C93800, C90300, C90700, and specialty manganese and aluminum bronze alloys.
• ECO BRONZE C87850 Bearings and Bars Lead-free cast bronze bearings and bars manufactured from C87850 ECO BRONZE alloy, independently validated as superior to other lead-free alternatives in impact strength, compressive strength, and non-galling properties. RoHS compliant and meets lead-free Safe Drinking Water Act, S3874, and AB1953 standards.
• Custom Machined Products Custom CNC machining services and bespoke bearing solutions produced to customer specifications using six Samsung CNC turning lathes with live tooling (including Samsung SL65/3200), five live tooling machining centers, and a vertical turret lathe, with parts ranging from 3/8" to 10" diameter.
• Powdered Metal Bearings and Thrust Washers Oil-impregnated sintered bronze bearings and thrust washers manufactured via powder metallurgy, with bronze powder pressed and sintered to create interconnected porosity (~25%) vacuum-impregnated with lubricant for self-lubricating operation. Available in standard SAE841, Dri-Plane, BB-16, military specification grades, and iron-copper variants.
• Powdered Metal Bars, Discs and Plates Self-lubricating solid and cored bronze bars, circular discs, and plates manufactured via powder metallurgy, stocked in over 200 different sizes in SAE841 bronze and SAE863 iron-copper, suitable for high-volume production and prototype applications.
• Powdered Metal Structural Products

Quantifiable outcome

• PM defect rate of 0.1% vs. industry average of 2–5%
• +4 more outcomes

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Chase BrasscoreTechnology or IntegrationBunting Bearings partners with Chase Brass for the ECO BRONZE C87850 alloy. Chase Brass supplies the proprietary lead-free bronze alloy material which Bunting Bearings machines into finished bearing products. The partnership includes joint testing of ECO BRONZE by independent US laboratories. ECO BRONZE is positioned as the first cost-competitive alternative to traditional C93200 (SAE660) leaded bronze. Bunting's website features a dedicated 'Bunting Bearings Partner – Eco Bronze' resource linking to Chase Brass's product page.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Symmco Inc. Symmco is a powdered metal and sintered bronze bearing manufacturer with overlapping SAE841 and iron-copper PM bearing product lines, serving similar industrial and distributor customers from a comparable niche-manufacturer footprint.
• GGB Bearing Technology: GGB (formerly Glacier Garlock Bearings) is the most direct peer in self-lubricating and plain bearings, offering a comparable portfolio of metal-polymer, fiber-reinforced, and bronze bushing solutions into the same industrial OEM and distributor channels that Bunting serves.
• igus: igus is a global specialist in self-lubricating polymer bearings and bushings, directly competing with Bunting's engineered plastic bearing line (Nylon, PTFE, Nylatron, Vespel) across industrial, food-grade, and marine applications.
• Thomson Industries (Regal Rexnord): Thomson manufactures plain and linear bearings, including bronze bushings and engineered polymer bearings, with deep overlap in industrial OEM and distributor channels serving similar end-markets such as heavy equipment, factory automation, and aerospace.

Broad incumbents

• RBC Bearings: RBC Bearings is a much larger, publicly traded manufacturer of engineered bearings (including plain and powder metal bearings) serving aerospace, defense, and industrial markets — overlapping with Bunting in PM bearings and aerospace/medical certifications but operating at vastly greater scale and breadth.
• Boston Gear (Altra Motion): Boston Gear, part of Altra Motion, offers plain bearings, bushings, and power-transmission components through a broad industrial catalog, overlapping with Bunting's stock product line and shared distribution channels.
• NTN Bearing Corporation: NTN is a major global bearing manufacturer with a broad industrial bearing portfolio including plain and ball/roller bearings, serving many of the same industrial, automotive, and distributor customers that Bunting reaches through its preferred distributor network.

Emerging players

• TriStar Plastics Corp. TriStar specializes in high-performance engineered plastic bearings and self-lubricating materials, directly overlapping with Bunting's engineered plastics line (PTFE, Nylatron, Vespel) while focusing on more customized, application-engineered solutions for OEM customers.
• CSB Slewing Bearing Co. CSB manufactures self-lubricating plain and polymer bearings, overlapping with Bunting's engineered plastic and self-lubricating PM bearings for industrial, food, and medical applications, though with a stronger emphasis on Asia-sourced production.

Regional players

• Reliance Bearing & Gear Co. Reliance Bearing is a regional US distributor/fabricator of bronze and babbitt bearings, competing with Bunting in custom machined and stock bronze bearings for industrial and heavy-equipment customers, primarily in the Midwest.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BuntingBearing1
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCUnflHxj4I2k3TM16lEVhTQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/BuntingBearingsLlc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bunting-bearings-llc

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bunting Bearings, LLC