New Timken Co. factory in Mexico begins making tapered roller bearings

Aug 17, 2023

JACKSON TWP. Timken Co. has started producing tapered roller bearings from a new factory in Mexico.

The facility in San Jose Iturbide just started production and expects to have 100 employees by the end of March.

It's the company's only manufacturing site in Central and South America, and it will supply customers globally and across the Americas. The plant is in the central Mexico state of Guanajuato; San Jose Iturbide is about 175 miles north of Mexico City.

"Our new facility builds on our manufacturing strategy to serve customers where they need us across the world," Christopher Coughlin, Timken executive vice president and group president, said in a press news announcing the factory had started production.

Timken didn't disclose the cost of the investment.

The company said the new factory will use state-of-the-art technology and automation to achieve standards for quality and consistency.

"It will help us advance our global bearing leadership by providing a high level of value and service for our customers in the region and globally," Coughlin said in the release.

The new factory is the latest in a series of manufacturing investments Timken has made in recent years to advance its global geographic expansion. The majority of the company's production is in the United States.

Timken continually evaluates its long-term capacity, cost competitiveness and customer demand, and that sometimes results in production shifts in its global operations, a spokesman wrote in an email.

"Customer demand is strong for Timken bearing products across our global network," the spokesman wrote. "As a result, all of our manufacturing facilities continue to operate."

Timken established a presence in Latin America in 1944. It serves the region through offices and warehouses in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. The region now accounts for just over 5% of the company's sales.

The new factory is separate from plans Timken announced earlier in December to invest up to $75 million over the next 18 months to improve its renewable energy capabilities worldwide. That effort is designed to serve the company's renewable energy customers through a network of engineering and innovation centers in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Reach Edd at 330-580-8484 or [email protected]

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