Timken Co. names new chairman

CANTON, Ohio (AP) - Timken Co. on Friday named Ward J. "Tim" Timken Jr. chairman of the alloy steel and bearings manufacturer. The 38-year-old will succeed his uncle, William Robert "Tim" Timken Jr., who is resigning to become the U.S. ambassador to Germany. The company was founded in 1899 by Henry Timken and now has 26,000 employees worldwide. Five generations of Timkens have served as the company's board chairman. Since the company went public in 1922 a family member has served as chairman with a non-family chief executive and president. The family, together with the Timken Foundation, still owns 13 percent of the company, but the board is largely independent. Ward Timken has been president of the company's steel group, which accounted for about $1.2 billion of the company's $4.5 billion in sales last year.