Manufacturers of NGK spark plugs and glow plugs. Importers and marketers of KYB shock absorbers. NGK Spark Plugs were produced in South Africa since 1950 under the company name of Lectrolite. These spark plugs were produced under license to NGK Spark Plugs Japan. NGK Spark Plugs SA, now owned by NGK Japan, still continues to produce a range of spark plugs for the OE market, P&A market and Aftermarket. NGK Spark Plugs SA also market and distribute NGK Glow Plugs and Resistor caps.

NGK Spark Plugs serves as a lighter to ignite the air/fuel mixture under extreme conditions. A spark plug must dissipate the heat produced by the combustion gasses.

With major R&D centres in Japan and the USA, NGKs European research and development work is based at the Technical Centre in Ratingen, Germany. This facility, established in 1990, has continuously expanded to provide technical support to the European automotive manufacturers.

The NGK Technical Centre covers an area of approx. 2,200 square metres and cost approx. 15 million Euros. It has three modern engine test rigs for endurance and application tests, together with cold-climate chambers in which engine and chassis can be cooled down to -30 degrees Celsius for analysing cold-start performance. It also has comprehensive equipment for carrying out full exhaust gas emission tests.

Today, NGK has benefited from this investment in Europe by being the OE supplier of spark plugs and or glow plugs to most vehicle manufacturers in Europe including Audi / Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Fiat, Renault, Peugeot and Vauxhall. With worldwide legislation demanding a reduction in exhaust emission levels, NGK has developed many technologies to combat these challenges. Through its NTK brand it has been increasingly involved in the development and manufacture of oxygen sensors which have a key role to play in exhaust gas after treatment. NGK Spark Plugs is now the world’s largest producer of these useful devices.