CANTON, Ohio, Nov. 11, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR) today announced that Michael C. Arnold, executive vice president and president of the Bearings and Power Transmission (B&PT) Group, intends to leave the company at the end of the year.  He has accepted a new position as president and CEO of a private equity-owned firm.  Arnold will officially retire from Timken on December 31, 2010, following more than 31 years with the company.

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"Mike has had a long and successful career with Timken leading the Bearings and Power Transmission group through an evolution that has enabled us to achieve higher sales and significant profit improvements," said James W. Griffith, president and chief executive officer of Timken. "We certainly wish him well in his future endeavors.

"He leaves in place a top-notch leadership team," added Griffith, "a high-performing group that is well-prepared to build on the momentum, carrying the business into new markets and expanding well beyond Timken's current product and service portfolio."  Griffith said that the company does not intend to fill Arnold's position and noted, "The B&PT leadership team was reorganized earlier this year, which now enables the company to have the business segment presidents report directly to the CEO.

"This team is quite accomplished in its own right," said Griffith, "with deep operations, supply chain, process design, strategy and marketplace expertise, forged both within and beyond the company.  For some time now, they have been developing and executing our strategy exceptionally well."  

Arnold joined The Timken Company in 1979 as a sales engineer in Cleveland, Ohio.  He thereafter held a succession of sales and general management positions with increasing responsibility.  He was named vice president – bearing business process advancement in 1998, promoted to president – industrial in 2000 and has held his current position since 2007.  

About The Timken Company

The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR, http://www.timken.com) keeps the world turning with innovative friction management and power transmission products and services, enabling our customers' machinery to perform more efficiently and reliably. With sales of $3.1 billion in 2009, operations in 27 countries/territories and approximately 17,000 employees, Timken is Where You Turn^® for better performance.

SOURCE The Timken Company