Timken India Targets Commercial Vehicle Service

Timken India Ltd. (India, a subsidiary of The Timken Company, USA) announced progress in new programs recently launched to expand its commercial vehicle service parts market reach in the region. As a corporation, Timken set highly aggressive targets for the entire Asian region. Specifically, efforts in China and India are expected to take the lead in more than quintupling sales across all Asian markets by 2010. The most recent initiatives are primarily designed to build up the replacement and service markets for agricultural, industrial, tractor, heavy-duty truck and commercial vehicles. Timken Service Points is a geographically diversified chain of Timken-approved service locations. Not only in key large markets, but also in poorly-represented rural markets across India, these service shops are targeting tractors, heavy-duty truck and bus fleets for bearing-related service, repair and replacement. Also being rolled out is Timken Premium Automotive Grease, produced by state-owned Indian Oil Co. Ltd. The grease, with a lithium complex base, is a proprietary formulation for heavy-duty commercial vehicles and the specific service demands found in the region -- particularly rust and water washout. With the grease, Timken said commercial vehicle operators can expect wheel bearings to go 75,000km before regreasing is needed. An extensive selection of ball bearings is being added to the Timken Service Parts lineup, which already includes tapered roller bearings, seals and grease. Finally, Timken will announce it has given the go-ahead to build a needle roller bearing manufacturing facility in India, with a budget in the USD $50 million range.