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Timken Joint Venture Breaks Ground on Wind Energy Plant
10/29/2008 - Timken’s new joint venture, Timken XEMC (Hunan) Bearings Co., recently broke ground on a new wind energy plant that it will build in China’s Hunan province.
The Timken Co.’s new joint venture, Timken XEMC (Hunan) Bearings Co., Ltd., recently broke ground on a new wind energy plant that it will build in China.
The new company will produce ultra-large-bore bearings for large scale wind turbines, using advanced technology to help China meet its growing demand for alternative energy. Timken’s other partner in the venture is Xiangtan Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (XEMC).
The venture will use the new $38-million facility to manufacture high-performance bearings for the main shafts of wind turbines. These bearings could play a significant role in improving the reliability of the generation of renewable energy, which is considered an emerging technology. Timken’s alloy steel expertise, power-transmission design and precision manufacturing capabilities combined with XEMC's leadership position in Chinese heavy equipment manufacturing will help to position the new venture to support China’s rapidly growing wind energy industry.
“We are proud of our collaboration with XEMC,” said Timken Chairman Ward J. Timken Jr., who was present in Xiangtan for the groundbreaking ceremony. “We look forward to bringing more than a century of power-transmission and materials expertise to this joint venture as we collaborate to meet sustainable energy needs in the 21st century.”
Timken holds an 80% ownership stake in the joint venture with XEMC. The venture’s new facility, which is located in the city of Xiangtan in China’s Hunan province, is expected eventually to employ more than 100 people, with bearings from the facility destined solely for the China region. Bearings from the new facility are expected to be available in 2010.
Last week, Timken announced it also will expand production at its Tyger River facility in Union, S.C., by shifting existing capacity to make ultra-large-bore bearings to serve committed demand from wind-turbine manufacturers in North America.
Timken supplies a broad range of friction-management and power-transmission solutions to wind-energy markets including cylindrical, integrated flexpin and large-diameter tapered bearings, as well as high-quality alloy steel components. The company’s approximately 25,000 employees generated sales of $5.2 billion in 2007 from its operations in 27 countries.
