CANTON, Ohio, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Timken Company, a worldwide leader in bearings and alloy steel, announced today that it has established a distribution center in Shanghai, China. Timken Engineered Products Shanghai Co., Ltd. will import Timken(R) and other manufacturers' products to China from around the world and become an export hub for Timken and outsourced products that are sold to global markets.

The facility, located in the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Area of Shanghai, will perform distribution for an array of industrial bearings and related components, primarily for the power transmission market. The facility also will offer customer service functions.

"This distribution company is one of several initiatives The Timken Company is pursuing in China. It is a logical next step in the company's evolution in Asia," says Gordon Robinson, president - emerging markets. "Our goal is to provide a more efficient import and export mechanism to facilitate sales growth, and this center will help us accomplish that objective. China is an exciting emerging market in which to participate, and we are pleased to be among the world leaders present in Shanghai."
Complementing manufacturing and sales operations

The Timken Company entered the Chinese market in the early 1990s when it opened a sales office in Hong Kong in 1992, followed by Shanghai in 1993 and Beijing in 1996. In 1996, Timken formed a joint venture to produce bearings in Yantai and in 2001, Yantai Timken Company, Ltd. became a wholly owned subsidiary of The Timken Company.

The Yantai facility has become a global manufacturing operation that produces Timken(R) single and two-row tapered roller bearings and cylindrical bearings for automotive and industrial applications. By mid-2004, will expand production capacity to 5 million bearing sets per year.
In 2002, The Timken Company and NSK Ltd. formed a joint venture to build a plant near Shanghai. Ground was broken in December 2002 and production is expected to begin first quarter 2004. The joint venture plant will specialize in single-row tapered bearings used in medium- to high-volume automotive and industrial applications.

"Strategic export and import operations maximize the value of our production in the region," says Vivian Ling, manager-distribution management and new business development in China. "This distribution center will help us facilitate manufacturing growth by speeding products to market both in China and globally. We expect positive results in this region of the world throughout the decade."

The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR) ( http://www.timken.com ) is a leading international manufacturer of highly engineered bearings, alloy and specialty steels and components, as well as a provider of related products and services. With operations in 24 countries, the company employs about 18,000 people worldwide and recorded 2002 sales of U.S. $2.6 billion.

(From Timken website)