Timken Acquires SES Technical Group

The Timken Company (USA) has acquires SES Technical Group (USA, a division of SES, LLC) for an undisclosed sum. It will become part of Timken Industrial Services LLC. SES's parent company will continue to own and operate its other two divisions involved in equipment and services for the metals and related industries. SES Technical, with 20 employees and USD $2.5 million in annual sales, specializes in vibration analysis, infrared thermography, continuous monitoring systems, wear particle analysis, and 24-hour emergency services. Timken has been an SES Technical customer for several years. Timken Industrial Group President, Mike Arnold, said, "The associates of the SES Technical Group bring new capabilities to Timken that will allow us to build on our heritage of working with customers. The addition of the SES Technical Group's service offerings expands our ability to grow beyond bearings and deliver innovative solutions to our customers." The bearing industry's biggest players -- SKF, INA/FAG and Timken in particular -- have been the most aggressive in pursuing opportunities beyond bearings and to related, more profitable value-added services. Ignoring profitability issues, rolling out related value-added services also offers organic sales growth and market extension opportunities lacking in the largely saturated bearing markets of the world's industrialized countries. In a related move, Timken named Matt Schleich as General Manager of Reliability Services, with operational and strategic responsibility for that operation. Mr. Schleich had been Timken's Global Manager of New Products and Services.