Timken to Invest $35 Million at Faircrest Steel Plant
02/02/2011 - Timken has announced plans to invest approximately $35 million to install a high-volume, in-line forge press at its Faircrest rolling mill facility in Canton, Ohio.
The Timken Co. has announced plans to invest approximately $35 million to install a high-volume, in-line forge press at its Faircrest rolling mill facility in Canton, Ohio.
This investment comes on the heels of the $50-million commitment in capital improvements initiated at the end of 2010 at the company's other steel facilities in Canton. The investments are backed by significant increases in demand for Timken’s high-performance steel across all markets.
According to the company, the new in-line forge press will help to generate value by increasing capacity, lowering costs through improved yield, expanding product capabilities to meet increasingly demanding ultrasonic specifications, and reducing cycle times for larger products. It is scheduled to begin operation in early 2013.
"This open-die in-line press will be the first step of the forge-rolled process for all Faircrest products," said Tom Moline, Vice President of Manufacturing. "Adding this step prior to rolling will provide better yield and production efficiencies to significantly improve our operations."
The investment will provide particular value to customers in markets where Timken's high-performance steel products operate in extreme operating conditions, such as oil and gas, heavy machinery, wind energy and power generation.
"We are making this next investment with the needs of our customers foremost in mind," said Sal Miraglia Jr., President of Timken's Steel Group. "In turn, this will contribute substantially to our long-term competitiveness, which is critical to jobs and performance."
In addition to the $50 million in capital expenditures announced last year for the company's Canton facilities, Timken has made a series of investments in its steel operations since 2006, totaling more than $200 million. Most are advanced technology investments focused on improving productivity and developing new products to strengthen Timken's position and support long-term growth. They include two new heat-treat lines and a scrap logistics system added between 2006 and 2007; a long-length tube line added in 2008; and a new small bar mill, which was commissioned at the Harrison facility in 2008.
Timken's Steel Group produces some of the cleanest, highest-quality steels for the most demanding applications. The majority of steel manufactured by Timken is custom-melted to the customer's chemistry and manufacturing specifications in solid round or square bars, seamless tubes or semi-finished parts.
Timken provides innovative friction management and power transmission products and services that help hard-working machinery to perform efficiently and reliably. Timken’s approximately 20,000 employees generated sales of $4.1 billion in 2010 from its operations in 27 countries.
