CANTON, Ohio: July 12, 2010 — The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR) has enhanced its line of precision bearings for high-speed dental hand-pieces, now offering a broader selection of options and features to better resist wear in harsh sterilization environments while improving stability and lubricant flow.  The new dental bearings employ stainless steel rings, high-quality Grade 3 balls and an advanced cage. 

Customers can now choose ball and shield upgrades to match the needs of their specific hand-piece or maintenance regimen. Ceramic ball upgrades offer even greater wear-resistance and smoother operation than the standard steel balls.  Upgrading the bearing from single to dual shields can help eliminate the need for re-lubrication during expected bearing life.

“Offering multiple choices in our dental bearing line allows end users to select the features that are most important to them,” said Rob Stiffler, product manager, miniature assembly.  “This helps reduce cost and increases value for both the hand piece manufacturers and the dental professionals who use them.” 

The new dental bearings are manufactured to meet or exceed multiple ISO P4 and ABEC 7 precision tolerances, standards established by the Annular Bearing Engineers Committee (ABEC) or set by the International Standards Organization (ISO).  ABEC rates bearings using an odd-numbered scale ranging from 1 to 9.  A higher number represents greater manufactured precision of the bearing. 

For more information about Timken super-precision bearings for the health industry, please visit www.Timken.com/health.

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 26 countries/territories and approximately 17,000 employees, Timken is Where You Turn® for better performance.

The Timken Company

Media Contact: Lorrie Paul Crum
Manager – Global Media and Strategic Communications
Mail Code: GNW-37
1835 Dueber Avenue, S.W.
Canton, OH 44706 U.S.A.
Office: (330) 471-3514 
Mobile:    (330) 224-5021
lorrie.crum@timken.com

Investor Contact: Steve Tschiegg
Director – Capital Markets and Investor Relations
Mail Code: GNE-26
1835 Dueber Avenue, S.W.
Canton, OH 44706 U.S.A.
Office:  (330) 471-7446

steve.tschiegg@timken.com