Timken Completes Sale of Linear Motion Systems Division to Overseas Industries

CANTON, Ohio, June 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Timken Company announced today that it has completed the sale of its Linear Motion Systems (LMS) division - Timken S.p.A in Milan (Italy) and Timken Deutschland GmbH in Stuttgart (Germany) -- to Overseas Industries S.p.A., an Italian firm. LMS designs and produces linear guides for industrial equipment manufacturers, and in 2004 had net sales of approximately $40 million (32 million euro). In addition, LMS is a distributor of needle roller bearings and a range of diversified sourced products, marketed under the Nadella(R) brand. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. "Nadella linear and diversified products serve niche applications. Selling the unit is part of our ongoing strategy to focus on businesses that will grow by bringing value to customers through our knowledge of friction management and power transmission," said Michael J. Connors -- vice president -- industrial equipment. "This sale of the LMS linear guides and diversified products business does not affect our core needle bearing business, as we continue to aggressively pursue profitable growth in our needle product line." Timken expects to use proceeds from the sale of LMS to pay down debt and for other corporate purposes. The sale includes the Nadella(R) brand, which Overseas Industries will continue to use with LMS products. Timken will retain the European needle bearing manufacturing facilities and transition needle bearing sales to Timken(R) Torrington(R). "We are excited about the potential of this business," said Federico Nordio -- general manager of Overseas Industries. "LMS is a specialized business with strong engineering and manufacturing capabilities. We expect to leverage all of these strengths to further enhance LMS as a successful, profitable enterprise that will build upon its market-leading position in Italy and Germany that will ultimately deliver increased value for LMS customers and our shareholders." Linear Motion Systems LMS is the name of the division composed of Timken S.p.A. (now renamed Nadella S.p.A.) and Timken Deutschland GmbH (now renamed Nadella GmbH) founded in 1963 and 1985 as subsidiaries of Nadella, a French company. LMS employs approximately 100 people in Milan and Stuttgart. Its manufactured products are used in such diverse applications as robotics and handling equipment, packaging machines, machine tools, woodworking machinery, feeding and assembly machinery, loading equipment and paper printing machines. LMS was acquired by The Torrington Company in 2001. Timken acquired Torrington in 2003. Overseas Industries Based in Milan, Italy, Overseas Industries makes long-term investments in quality companies, working with management to create value over the long-term. With more than 30 transactions completed worldwide and significant experience operating and investing in businesses, Overseas Industries principals bring a unique mix of experience to its portfolio companies. The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR) (www.timken.com) keeps the world turning, with innovative ways to make customers' products run smoother, faster and more efficiently. Timken's highly engineered bearings, alloy steels and related products and services turn up everywhere -- on every continent, on the seas and in space. With operations in 27 countries, record sales of $4.5 billion in 2004 and 26,000 employees, Timken is Where You Turn(TM) for better performance.