Timken India Ltd. has announced that it will invest Rs. 360 million to expand tapered roller bearing manufacturing capacity at its Chennai plant. The project, scheduled to commence production in the second quarter of 2011, will enable a capacity increase of 2.4 million units of upto 8-inch tapered roller bearings. This size is used in construction and other off-highway vehicles as well as heavy trucks and other commercial transportation systems. The expansion is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter.“We are witnessing a steep increase in demand for Timken tapered roller bearings in and outside India, said Mr. Ajay Das, Managing Director of Timken operations in India. “A fast growing economy like India warrants an even faster development of infrastructure and our products are targeted to meet this distinct upward trend in consumption. To match with the increasing demand, we will be continuously looking to ramp up capacity”.
India continues to consolidate its position on the global front being one of the world’s top 10 vehicle producing countries. The seventh largest vehicle producing nation in the world, it now accounts for five per cent of global auto production, up from 1.4 per cent at the beginning of 2000, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
A study by Ernst & Young shows that the Indian market will clock the fastest compound annual growth rate between 2009 and 2020, more than double that of China and the triad of North America, Europe and Japan. India’s CAGR between 2009 and 2020 is expected to be 14 per cent compared with China’s six per cent, other emerging markets’ six per cent (which includes BRIC nations) and the triad’s four per cent.
Mr. Ajay Das observed: “Our many years of experience in supporting automobile manufactures have provided great insight into their specific needs. We provide a complete line of tapered, spherical and cylindrical roller bearings, engineered specifically to increase performance, reduce total costs of ownership and minimize environmental impacts”.
Timken started its Indian operations in 1989, with its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Jamshedpur. To cater to the growing market, the company subsequently set up a manufacturing facility in Chennai in 2008.
Timken has established a Technology Centre in Bengaluru, which is one of the nine Timken innovation and development centres around the world providing customers a unique opportunity to access the global pool of engineering expertise and latest technological advancements. The capabilities include customer application engineering, manufacturing technology, including tool & detail design, innovation centre for detailed analysis, testing, metallurgy & new product development, and business systems development, including global infrastructure support, IT and ITES.
“Over the last two decades, Timken has built world-class engineering, design, manufacturing, sales & services capabilities in India. We are in an excellent position to provide end-to-end solutions (design to aftermarket services) to our discerning customers with the team and capabilities in Bengaluru, Chennai, Jamshedpur and our sales offices across India”, said Mr. Das.Solution for automotive segment
Timken engineers work collaboratively with automotive and heavy truck original equipment manufacturers to develop custom solutions to design problems. Heavy trucks need heavy duty solutions to maximize performance and fuel efficiency.
Timken provides a range of bearing, steel and power transmission products and design capabilities for heavy truck applications such as axles, wheel ends, engines and transmissions. In the light truck & passenger car segment, Timken designs improve performance, durability and efficiency in cars and light trucks. Automakers around the world integrate Timken bearings, steel and power transmission components throughout the vehicle.
All heavy trucks, off-highway equipment and LVS manufacturers are its customers, and Timken believes in performance and differentiation and its products are used in high performance and rugged applications.
Timken is also the market leader in performance-driven applications like axles, pinions, high-speed transmission systems and high-performance equipments like dumpers and tunnel boring machines.
Timken fuel-efficient tapered roller bearings demonstrate seven times the life of similar products from the competitors in the field in both heavy duty and agriculture applications.
Aftermarket
Automotive aftermarket is a very important wing of Timken in India. It offers a wide range of tapered roller bearings, high performance automotive grease, gasket sealant and related products in the aftermarket. It has been identified as one of the main growth drivers for the company. It offers opportunity to enhance both for bearing and allied products. It has 34 channel partners covering the whole country. These channel partners reach out to more than 6,000 retailers.
In the automotive aftermarket, Timken offers solutions from automotive, heavy duty, agriculture and motorcycle applications to medium duty, construction and marine products. It delivers high-quality products with one of the widest ranges of part numbers in the industry.
For the light truck & passenger car segment, Timken offers replacement bearings, seals, hub assemblies, specialty kits and grease to keep automobiles on the road. For the heavy truck segment, the extreme performance needs of heavy trucks are met with the company’s extensive line of wheel and driveline bearings & kits.
The Indian automotive industry is in a growth phase. The Indian GDP is growing and the focus is on manufacturing and infrastructure development. The mining sector has seen growth with the entry of the global players in the market. This has led to a significant increase in the market for high performance mining equipments.
With new reliable technology, Timken becomes an integral part of it. Truck owners also look for shorter turnaround time which is advantage Timken with its high performance products.
