The Timken Co. (NYSE: TKR), North Canton, Ohio, said Monday that its decision to enter into the solar energy industry in 2018 has paid off as its solar energy revenue is expected to grow at a double-digit rate over the next three-to -five years.

Bearings manufacturer Timken entered the solar energy market with its acquisition of Cone Drive in the third quarter of 2018. Under the auspices of Timken, Cone Drive has continued to build momentum with solar energy original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Cone Drive has tripled its solar revenue in the past three years, which Timken said outpaced “underlying market growth by a significant margin.”

Last year, the company generated more than $100 million in solar energy revenue. With the increased demand for solar energy, Timken expects that growth to continue over the coming years.

“Our teams established a reputation for quality and reliability early on with solar energy OEMs and created positive momentum that continues to build,” said Carl D. Rapp, Timken group vice president. “We work as a trusted technical partner with the largest manufacturers in the world to develop individual, customized solutions for each solar installation. Our application engineering expertise and innovative solutions stand out as distinct competitive advantages.”

Since 2018, Timken said it has played a role in more than one-third of the world’s utility-scale solar projects  such as the Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai, where the power tower installation utilizes Cone Drive’s precision solar tracking technology. The solar park will have capacity to generate 600 MW of clean energy using CSP technology and an additional 2,200 MW from PV technology.

Earlier this year, China-based solar tracker OEM Arctech Solar awarded Cone Drive a multi-million-dollar contract to provide a custom engineered slewing drive system for PowerChina’s Jiangxi Electric power project, which Timken said was reportedly the largest drive project of its kind in the world.

Timken said it has invested heavily in research and development and has built manufacturing, engineering, and testing capabilities in both the United States and China. In 2020, renewable energy, which consists of wind and solar, became Timken’s single-largest end-market sector, representing 12% of total company sales.