To determine why properties for European bronze bearings were significantly different from those manufactured in the United States, a study was initiated by the MPIF Standards Committee to discover if the differences were real and what caused such a significant difference. The study used two groups of commercial P/M bronze bearings from a European producer and one group of similar size and sintered density from Symmco, all manufactured under standard processing conditions. Powder-Tech Associates, Inc. in Massachusetts tested P/M bearing samples from both companies for wet and dry sintered density, open porosity and radial-crushing strength. A laboratory in the United Kingdom also tested P/M bearings from Symmco and the Eurpoean producer to validate Powder-Tech's findings. Examination of the microstructures of the P/M bronze bearings from both sources revealed no significant differences in the measurements obtained by both testing facilities. This indicated that the differences in percent open porosity and radial-crushing strength between the North American and European bearings were not due to a difference in measurement techniques. While a direct comparison of the properties between the two sources was not possible, the testing showed that Symmco's 25.5% open porosity bearings were stronger than the European producer’s 23.9% open porosity bearings. As stated in the International Journal of Powder Metallurgy (Vol 41, Issue 3, 2005), “At a given sintered density, the Symmco bearings exhibit a higher radial-crushing strength and a lower level of open porosity than the bearings produced by the European company.” Closer examination during the testing revealed that the bearings obtained from Symmco reflected “a higher sintering temperature and more complete sintering,” reinforcing the view that European bearings are under-sintered. Congratulations to everyone at Symmco for making our bearings the best bearings on the global market.