Timken Will Supply PROTOS Rail Bearings

Timken Will Supply PROTOS Rail Bearings The Timken Company (USA; NASDAQ: TKR) announced it has won the contract to supply journal bearings and housings for the German-made PROTOS train. The PROTOS train, manufactured by FTD Fahrzeugtechnik Dessau AG, (website) is a multiple-unit (1-4 units), low-floor, regional-distance passenger train capable of speeds up to 160kmh (100mph). Seating between 85 and 95 people per unit, it is available as both diesel and electric. Founded in 1996, FTD Fahrzeugtechnik Dessau AG manufactures the trains at its facility in Dessau, Germany. This past May 2006, majority ownership in Fahrzeugtechnik Dessau was acquired by Magdeburg-based PRO-Railinvest GmbH, and is essentially a subsidiary of CJSC Transmashholding (website). Transmashholding, headquartered in Moscow, is largest Russian manufacturer of railcars, locomotives, and other rolling stock. Only recently introduced, the first PROTOS trains are on order for Dutch transport company Connexxion. Connexxion ordered five 2-section trainsets. They will be used, starting in September 2007, on the Ede-Wageningen-Amersfoort route. The specially engineered axle bearing units are tapered roller bearings mounted in a radial arm housing. Timken supplies the bearings preassembled, prelubricated and presealed. Fahrzeugtechnik Dessau then mounts the units on the axle and the axle is then mounted in the bogie frame. Mat Happach, VP - Rail, said: "We use everything we know about friction management to deliver a fully integrated customized system that is easier to install. And, we were able to do it quickly to meet the customer's need to launch the new train."