RBI Bearing, Inc. was established in 1990 by Chen Hao (Rubien Chen) in a small warehouse in Southern California. The company was originally formed as a broker/importer of Chinese ball bearings selling to large distributors in the United States.

The company soon outgrew the original warehouse and moved to a new distribution center and corporate office in Monrovia, California. Manufacturers agents were appointed to market RBI bearings directly to large OEM's and robust growth continued for the next several years.

In 1993, three major changes took place. First, Rubien began to establish joint ventures with established Chinese manufacturers to assure consistent ball bearing quality. Second, he created a trading company in Wuxi, China to coordinate production, testing and shipping to all locations throughout the world.

Perhaps the most important change was the establishment of a Quality and Technical Center in Wuxi. Rubien staffed the facility with engineers to test bearings from our manufacturing partners and directly involved them in new project development for our customers.

Toward the end of 1993 the company's sales strategy changed dramatically and RBI began to establish its own team of seasoned Western salespeople and managers. Additional distribution locations were also established to support the sales team and position the company for future growth.

In 1994, Mike Kenney joined RBI as National Sales Manager for the U.S. and established our Midwest sales and distribution office in Chicago. RBI Canada was established as a joint venture by Tony Bisante and Rubien Chen in 1995 to serve the growing Canadian customer base.

Orders and projects flow through our western management team to our Quality and Technical Center in Wuxi, China. Prints and specifications are verified before and after production by both management and our engineers in Wuxi to assure quality levels are met.

RBI announced plans in 1997 to build a state of the art factory from the ground up in Chengdu, China. The goal was to own and operate a factory that would produce the best ball bearings in China for the world market at competitive prices. The 250,000 square foot facility was completed in June, 2001 and the first bearings came off the line in September. Designed to accommodate 40 production lines, this facility has the capacity to produce 72 million bearings annually.

In July, 2002 the CD-RBI facility received its accreditation as an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer, a reflection of the management vision and quality standards established by the company.

In November, 2002 RBI purchased a miniature ball bearing factory in Wuxi, China and is currently rebuilding the facility with the same state of the art equipment as our Chengdu facility.

From our beginning as a small importer in southern California, RBI Bearing has grown to become a world-class manufacturer of the best ball bearings in China. We have become a major force in the bearings industry by delivering what we promise, and providing superior sales and service to every customer, every day.