CANTON, Ohio, Jan 06, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via Comtex/ -- The Timken Company announced today its sponsorship of the Design News "Engineer of the Year" award at the National Design Engineering Show. The award, voted on by readers of Design News, will be presented at a banquet in February at McCormick Place in Chicago.

Established in 1987, the Engineer of the Year award recognizes the great minds behind significant developments in the field of engineering. It is the top honor presented at the show, which is part of National Manufacturing Week from Feb. 23-26, 2004. Design News is a leading trade magazine covering mechanical and electromechanical design engineering.

"We are grateful for the involvement of The Timken Company in the Design News' Engineering Awards Program. Through its ongoing and generous support of the Engineer of the Year Award and educational grant, Timken has truly taken a leadership position in helping to advance engineering education," said Dan Hirsh, publisher - Design News.

Each year, among other prizes, an educational grant is donated in the winner's name to the engineering school of the winner's choosing.

"It is increasingly important to support the engineers of tomorrow," said Roger Knudsen, vice president Timken engineering - industrial group. "Engineering is the backbone of our company and programs such as this help to further develop those who will lead us into the next wave of engineering advancements."

Past winners of the Design News Engineer of the Year award include: Tom Vos, director of safety systems at TRW and prime force between development of auto safety systems; Alan Mulally, president of Boeing Commercial and leader of the design efforts for the Boeing 777; and Brian Muirhead, Jet Propulsion Lab/NASA engineer who led the Mars Pathfinder program. Timken bearings and steel can be found in all those applications.

The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR, www.timken.com) is a leading international manufacturer of highly engineered bearings, alloy and specialty steels and components, and a provider of related products and services. Following its February 2003 acquisition of The Torrington Company, Timken employs 28,000 people worldwide in operations in 29 countries. In 2002, the combined companies had sales of approximately $3.8 billion.

For Additional Information: Eric Stasiowski, Communications Manager, (330) 471-4392

SOURCE The Timken Company

Photo    : http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991012/TKRLOGO

Eric Stasiowski, Communications Manager of The Timken Company,
+1-330-471-4392

http://www.prnewswire.com

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