Rgpballs

What Rgpballs does

RGPBALLS S.r.l. is an Italian family-owned manufacturer of precision balls, ball transfer units, and precision cylindrical rolls and needle rollers, headquartered in Cinisello Balsamo (Milan) on a 10,000 m² site with a 70+ person team and a wholly-owned UK subsidiary (RGPBALLS UK LTD, Stevenage). The company has operated continuously for over 50 years (founded circa 1970) and serves more than 3,000 customers across multiple industrial end-markets, including industrial manufacturing (bearings, linear guides), aerospace, automotive, oil and gas, naval, agriculture, energy, airport infrastructure, cosmetics and food processing. Its catalog spans seven material families—steel, metal alloys, plastic, ceramic (SiC, ZTA, ruby, sapphire, Al2O3, ZrO2, Si3N4), rubber, glass and specialty variants—plus ball transfer units (SPS, SPM, SBM, SPP series) and rollers conforming to UNI/DIN standards.

The underlying technology rests on in-house metallographic and metrological laboratory capability combined with eddy-current sorting, enabling custom diameters with 0.25 micron tolerance, 100 million balls selected weekly, and more than 20,000 tests performed each week, all under a Made-in-Italy traceability chain from steel-filament origin. The product stack is anchored in physical-process manufacturing rather than software, with QA and certification forming the primary differentiator (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, AEO, ITALYX, REACH, RoHS, plus food-contact and cosmetic-contact compliance).

The business model is straightforward industrial supply: revenue is generated through one-time sales of catalog and custom-engineered components, priced by quote rather than published list price, with a 24-hour response standard on inquiries. Go-to-market combines enterprise field sales (serving both small companies and multinationals from the Italian HQ plus the UK office) with direct-to-consumer engagement through a multilingual website (IT, EN, FR, ES, DE) offering downloadable catalogs and a quote-request workflow. Distribution is direct from the Italian warehouse, supported by a network of international distribution partners reaching into Germany, France, Spain, the USA, China, and other markets. The company is privately held by the founding family, with EUR 1,000,000 fully paid-in share capital and no external investors, public listing, or recent M&A activity disclosed.

Name

Rgpballs

Legal name

RGPBALLS S.r.l.

Website

https://rgpballs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

RGPBALLS S.r.l. is an Italian family-owned manufacturer of precision balls, ball transfer units, and cylindrical/needle rollers serving 3,000+ industrial customers across aerospace, automotive, bearings, food, cosmetics and energy sectors from its Cinisello Balsamo HQ and UK subsidiary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precision Ball Manufacturing

NAICS

Ball and Roller Bearing Manufacturing (332991), All Other Miscellaneous Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (332999)

SIC

Ball & Roller Bearings (3562), Wholesale-Industrial Machinery & Equipment (5084)

akta.pro primary industry

Linear Motion & Mechanical Power Transmission (Ball/roller screws, linear guides, bearings, couplings) (IMAHAGAM)

Keywords

• Precision ball manufacturing
• Industrial bearing components
• Ball transfer units
• Precision cylindrical rollers
• Ceramic steel balls

Headquarters

HQ city

Cinisello Balsamo

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Precision Ball Sales: Sale of precision balls in various materials including steel, metal alloys, plastic, ceramic, rubber, glass, and special balls
2. Ball Transfer Units: Production and sale of ball transfer units for load handling applications
3. Precision Cylindrical Rolls and Needle Rollers: Production of precision cylindrical rolls, rollers, and needle rollers according to UNI/DIN standards and customer specifications

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

RGPBALLS manufactures, markets, and distributes precision spheres, rollers, pins, and bearing spheres in seven primary material categories — steel, metal alloys, plastic, ceramic, rubber, glass, and special balls — complemented by ball transfer units for material handling and precision cylindrical rolls and needle rollers produced to UNI/DIN standards. The company operates an in-house metallographic and metrological laboratory for quality testing and offers both standard catalog items and custom-made solutions with tolerances down to 0.25 microns.

Product overview

RGPBALLS is a precision ball manufacturer with over 50 years of experience, offering a comprehensive portfolio of precision balls across seven main material categories (steel, metal alloys, plastic, ceramic, rubber, glass, and special balls), complemented by ball transfer units for material handling and precision cylindrical rolls/needle rollers for industrial applications. The company operates with in-house metallographic and metrological laboratories for quality control and offers both standard catalog products and custom-made solutions with up to 0.25 micron precision on request.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Steel Balls High-precision steel balls for industrial applications, available in various grades and specifications for bearings, linear guides, and mechanical assemblies.
• Metal Alloys Balls Precision balls manufactured from brass and other metallic alloys for specialized industrial applications.
• Plastic Balls Precision balls manufactured from various plastic materials for industrial and specialized applications.
• Ceramic Balls High-performance ceramic balls including Silicon Carbide (SiC), ZTA, Ruby, Sapphire, Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3), Zirconium Oxide (ZrO2), and Silicon Nitride (Si3N4) for demanding industrial and aerospace applications.
• Rubber Balls Precision rubber balls including Viton, Polyurethane, Santoprene, Silicone, Natural Rubber (NR), Neoprene (CR), Molded Rubber, NBR, and EPDM compounds.
• Glass Balls Precision glass balls including Soda Lime, Borosilicate, Black Glass, and Quartz (SiO2) varieties.
• Special Balls Specialized precision balls including Stainless Steel/Metallic Alloy Hollow Balls, Hollow Plastic Balls, Steel Core Rubber Balls, Floating Rubber Balls, Magnetic Balls, Tumbling/Grinding Balls, and Satellites/Bicones.
• Ball Transfer Units Multidirectional systems for linear load handling consisting of large balls rotating on smaller diameter balls enclosed in semispherical housings. Includes SPS, SPM, SBM, and SPP series in various materials for material handling applications.
• Precision Cylindrical Rolls, Rollers and Needle Rollers Precision cylindrical and needle rollers produced according to UNI/DIN standards including NRA, NRB, ZB, TR rollers, tapered rollers, and special custom rolls. Available in various steel grades and silicon nitride.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100 million balls selected per week with more than 20,000 tests
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Qualified International Raw Material SupplierscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partnerships with qualified foreign partners for raw material supply, ensuring adequate production chain from the origin of steel filament. These partners support the Made-in-Italy certification requirements.
• International Distribution PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of distribution partners supporting global reach across multiple international markets including oil, cosmetics, automotive, aerospace, and other industrial sectors.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• NSK Ltd. Japanese manufacturer of ball bearings, rolling bearings and precision components. Comparable as a large-scale producer of precision balls and roller bearings across automotive, industrial and aerospace end markets that overlap with RGPBALLS' customer base.
• SKF: Global Swedish bearing and precision component conglomerate. Comparable as a buyer and producer of precision balls and rollers, and the dominant reference customer/competitor for any specialty precision-ball maker supplying bearing OEMs.
• Timken Company: US-based engineered bearings and power transmission producer. Comparable as a manufacturer of tapered, ball and cylindrical roller bearings serving industrial, aerospace and energy markets that overlap with RGPBALLS' specialty precision component portfolio.
• JTEKT Corporation (Koyo): Japanese bearing and steering systems manufacturer operating the Koyo brand. Comparable as a high-volume producer of ball and roller bearings whose product portfolio and OEM relationships overlap with RGPBALLS' precision-ball and roller offerings.
• NTN Corporation: Japanese bearing and precision component manufacturer with strong European presence through NTN-SNR. Comparable as a producer and consumer of precision balls and needle rollers serving automotive, aerospace and industrial OEMs that mirror RGPBALLS' target end markets.
• Schaeffler (INA / FAG): German automotive and industrial supplier with INA and FAG bearing lines. Directly comparable as a precision-bearing producer that consumes and supplies precision balls and cylindrical/needle rollers across automotive, aerospace and industrial end markets.

Peers

• Bal-Tec (Micro Surface Technologies):

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

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 Rgpballs