NPR

NRP company was founded in 1931 and initially manufactured piston rings for aircraft engines.  Having purchased several patents on manufacture of special metals and coatings from USA and Great Britain, this Japanese company quickly became one of the leading producers of piston rings in Japan. NRP didn’t stand aside when Japanese companies entered the international market in the 60s and 70s. In 1973 two companies were founded for selling of piston rings, one in Los Angeles (USA) -  NPR of America Inc. (NOA) and another in Stuttgart, Germany and was named as Schottle Motorenteile GmbH (SM). Under this trademark NRP piston rings were produced and sold on the European market. Schottle Motorenteile GmbH quickly strengthened its positions and became a recognizable trademark first in Germany and then in the whole Europe.

Already in 1976 the piston rings manufacturer Schottle Motorenteile GmbH (SM) became an official OEM supplier to Mercedes Benz. First SM rings were mounted on engines of OM615 series, but already in 1979 the whole 400 series was furnished by the Schottle Motorenteile rings.  In 1998 Schottle Motorenteile became an OEM supplier to AUDI and in 1999 it signed an agreement with BMW.

Since April 1, 2008 NPR of Europe has ended the production of piston rings under the SM trademark. A new trademark is named NE.