CANTON, Ohio, July 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Timken has announced the expansion of its line of maintenance tools from Europe into the United States and Canada. The tool line includes induction heaters, hydraulic pullers and impact fitting tools for use in demanding industrial applications where press- fit parts are critical to machine life. Maintenance tools represent an important component to Timken's comprehensive offering of friction management solutions. Leveraging Timken's knowledge of steel and bearings, customers turn to Timken for high quality products and services around the bearing to help keep their equipment up and running.

"At Timken, we are dedicated to improving our customers' performance by turning our knowledge of friction management into products and services that deliver value," said Scott G. Biltz, global manager - new products for the company's distribution business. "Proper removal and installation of bearings, gears, rings, couplings, bushing and other press-fit parts are critical in today's harsh industrial environments. These tools can help our customers maximize machine life."

Timken's large assortment of induction heaters were designed to handle parts from 33 to 25,000 pounds, and can heat and radially expand gears, bearings and other components. The heaters feature a microprocessor-controlled power supply, automated time and temperature control, and automatic demagnetization.

Timken hydraulic pullers feature a range of self-contained portable systems that have capacities from four to 30 tons. They are suited for pulling a wide variety of press-fit parts.

Designed to permit safe, precise and quick mounting, Timken's impact fitting tool set features impact-resistant plastic collets. The collets allow the load to be transmitted to the ring experiencing the interference fit, while helping to deter metal-to-metal contact and the resulting shaft damage.

The entire line of Timken maintenance tools is available through Timken authorized industrial distributors. 

The Timken Company, (NYSE: TKR, www.timken.com) keeps the world turning, with innovative ways to make customers' products run smoother, faster and more efficiently. Timken's highly engineered bearings, alloy steels and related products and services turn up everywhere. With operations in 27 countries, sales of $4.5 billion in 2004 and 26,000 employees, Timken is Where You Turn™ for better performance.

Contact: Craig Gifford, Communications Representative, +1-330-471-3910, fax, +1-330-471-7032, or craig.gifford@timken.com; or Steve Tschiegg, Manager - Investor Relations, +1-330-471-7446, fax +1-330-471-2797, orsteve.tschiegg@timken.com, both of The Timken Company

SOURCE The Timken Company