Timken Open to Tata Reunion

Timken Open to Tata Reunion Roller bearing maker Timken is open to renewing its alliance with the Tata group. The duo had a joint venture called Tata Timken, in which the Tatas sold their stake to the US-based Timken in 1999. The company is now called Timken India, in which Timken holds 80 per cent. Timken India is listed on the local bourses. ¡°The Tatas wanted to specialise in areas where we did not have core expertise. Therefore, we chose to part ways. We are open to forging an alliance with them if the opportunity comes up. However, there are no concrete plans yet,¡± said Timken India managing director Gordon W. Robinson on the sidelines of an American Chamber of Commerce seminar in Calcutta. Timken entered into the joint venture with the Tatas in the late eighties. It set up a unit in Jamshedpur, which primarily served the rail and road sector. The plant supplied bearings to the Tata Motors factory there. When asked whether the parent company wanted to delist Timken India, Robinson said he could not divulge any details.