The Timken Company, Canton, OH, announced plans to build a new bearing manufacturing facility in India. The plant, in Chennai in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, will produce antifriction bearings for global markets.
Timken’s new facility will be built in one of India’s new Special Economic Zones (SEZs), which provide a range of tax benefits, including duty-free import of equipment and material used in the manufacture of goods destined for sale outside of India. The facility will in Chennai’s Mahindra World City, and construction is expected to begin by the end of the year.
Timken’s Indian operations currently include a bearing manufacturing plant in Jamshedpur and a Global Innovation Center in Bangalore that has the capability to design, develop and test new friction management and power transmission technologies. Timken, with a presence in the Indian market since 1992, has a growing network of distributors focused on providing friction management solutions to industrial and automotive aftermarket customers throughout India.
“The Timken Company is continuing to invest in industrial products and markets where we have the opportunity to drive profitable growth,” said Mike Arnold, president of Timken’s Industrial Group. “Our new facility in India represents a significant expansion of our manufacturing presence in this important economy, and we will continue to look for strategic opportunities to build on our growing base in Asia.”
The plant is estimated to cost $25 million. Production is expected to begin during the fourth quarter of 2007. Timken, which employs about 1,000 people in India, anticipates adding about 300 positions to operate the Chennai plant.
The Timken Company has operations in 27 countries, sales of $5.2 billion in 2005 and 27,000 employees.
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