Events Calendar
In This Section
Matsos bottling a dressing that’s selling in 25 states
Economic survey: Job losses to bottom out in first quarter
Ohio gas prices up 12 cents from last week
SCORE offers wide variety of workshops
After 30 years at the helm of Akron Children's, Considine still looks to future
New version of Mozilla Thunderbird landing soon
Most Read Stories
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Victim of beating in Kent last week is declared dead at Akron hospital
Akron man killed in crash on his street
Can DNA tests free ex-Akron captain?
Browns find another way to lose
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Sunday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
Browns sick after sick loss in Detroit
Akron Zips:
Zips advance to Sweet Sixteen
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Post-game defensive quotes
Kent State Sports:
Kent State defeats Rochester College, 63-44
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
The Sunday Sanity Challenge
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (70) Savings in Medicare Advantage
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Faye Dunaway to be Evicted?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Monique asks how to get tickets for the Polar Express.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – You are All Wrong About Jobs, or the Lack of Jobs, Being the Reason People Do Not Live in NEO
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Profitable segments to be promoted, enhanced; areas that can't be fixed will be put up for sale
By Jim Mackinnon
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Thursday, Feb 21, 2008
Four words provide a basic idea on Timken Co.'s corporate strategy in the early part of the 21st century:
Fix it or exit.
There's nothing like a three-plus hour presentation to help industry analysts get their bearings on where Timken executives say they are taking the company.
The Canton manufacturer is transforming itself and refocusing the making and selling of bearings, high quality steel and other products and services to a global market, including heavy industry in Asia, senior executives told analysts at the company's ''Analyst Day'' event at corporate headquarters. The presentation followed the company reporting earlier this year a record $5.2 billion in sales and near-record earnings for 2007.
''Our industrial business has been the growth engine of the company,'' said Jim Griffith, Timken president and chief executive officer. ''It is the vanguard of our growth into Asia.''
While Timken in the 1990s successfully focused on fundamentals that he likened to a football team emphasizing blocking and tackling, the Timken of the 21st century has adopted a new offense to help it grow, Griffith said. Executives began looking at a new business model in 2000, he said.
In recent years, Timken has bought companies in industries where it thinks it can in
crease profits, while at the same time has shed unprofitable businesses, Griffith and other executives said. The result is a more customer-focused company that is operating at a faster pace of change and with increased productivity, he said.
As part of those changes, the company last year refocused into two broad-based business groups, the Steel Group and the Bearings and Power Transmission Group. Its struggling, stand-alone automobile division was folded into the Bearings and Power Transmission Group.
''We are investing in areas where we have unique capabilities,'' Griffith said. ''We either fix it or we are no longer in the business.''
He called the current transformation a ''historic turning point'' for Timken.
The presentation might have helped propel Timken stock up $1.26, or 4.1 percent, to $32.20. Shares are down 1.5 percent since Jan. 1, including reinvested dividends, and are up 10.3 percent from a year ago.
Mike Arnold, executive vice president and president of the new Bearings and Power Transmission Group, said Timken is moving from being a maker of bearings to also selling services, components and systems to companies.
Asia will continue to be a hotbed for industrial expansion for years, he said.
Also related to that will be continued global investment in the energy markets, particularly heavy equipment, where Timken can increase sales and profits, Arnold said.
Timken is refocusing its former automobile group into the more profitable aftermarket, he said.
Timken has identified the aerospace industry as another strong growth area, said Ron Menning, president of Timken's aerospace and defense business segment.
Sal Miraglia, president of the Steel group, said he thinks there will be strong global demand for steel for years to come, driven in large part by the ongoing industrialization of China and other parts of Asia.
''We're becoming a more global company,'' said Glenn Eisenberg, executive vice president, finance and administration.
Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com.
Four words provide a basic idea on Timken Co.'s corporate strategy in the early part of the 21st century:
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
