Timken Wind-Energy Solutions Focus on Sustainability

CANTON, Ohio, May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wind-energy industry, productivity requires consistent, uninterrupted turbine operation. Leveraging its industry-leading expertise in wind-energy bearing design, engineering, manufacturing and product application, The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR) continues to expand its comprehensive suite of wind-energy aftermarket solutions and services to help turbine operators achieve maximum uptime and energy production.  

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The company will showcase these and its latest innovation, the UltraWind P1 Seal, at the American Wind Energy Association WindPower trade show, May 22-25 in Anaheim, Calif.

"Original-equipment bearings in many wind turbines are not lasting as long as originally projected, leading to unexpected and extremely expensive turbine breakdowns," said Brad Baldwin, Timken's general manager of Process Industries' aftermarket business. "To prevent the loss of valuable uptime and productivity, it's important to turn to a trusted, industry-leading solutions provider like Timken for reliable and innovative aftermarket products and services. We provide wind -turbine manufacturers, owners and operators with comprehensive, cost-effective products, services and solutions to help improve turbine performance and reduce their total cost of ownership."

Among the wind-energy innovations Timken is highlighting at its booth (number 4435) during the WindPower show are:

System Maintenance, Repair and Upgrade Solutions

• The new Timken UltraWind P1 Seal, a revolutionary polyurethane seal that is designed to offer more abrasion resistance than other commonly used seal materials and features a flexible sealing lip to help accommodate bearing deflections;
• Timken^® Wear-Resistant Bearings (cylindrical or spherical), which are designed to extend predicted life up to three times longer than standard cylindrical or spherical bearings. Timken's breakthrough Wear-Resistant Bearing technology also helps resist degenerative main shaft and gearbox conditions such as smearing, scuffing, micropitting and brinneling;
• Timken's Online Intelligence System (OIS), a breakthrough condition-monitoring/data collection and reporting system specifically designed for low-speed turbine applications. The Timken OIS analyzes vibration, shock pulses and analog/digital inputs to help identify main shaft and gearbox problems before they develop into life-limiting conditions.

Main Shaft and Gearbox Bearing Solutions

• The new Timken^® Cylindrical Roller Bearings with Snap-In Cage, whose single-piece, machined-brass cage design with snap-in feature eliminates the need for separate roller retention accessories and helps enable easier, safer up-tower roller insertion and removal;
• New Timken^® High-Capacity Cylindrical Roller Bearings, which offer increased load-carrying capacity and longer service life than the full-caged cylindrical roller bearings commonly used in planetary gearboxes;
• The Timken^® UltraWind Tapered Roller Bearing, which utilizes the most advanced and highest Timken bearing rating as verified by Germanischer Lloyd, the world's leading auditor of wind-energy systems and components;
• Timken's Planet Pac and Integrated Flexpin Bearings, which provide power dense solutions to boost gearbox performance and reliability.

Timken's power transmission and steel experts for the wind energy sector also will be available to discuss the company's wide range of aftermarket predictive maintenance programs and repair services, including portable monitoring system field troubleshooting; bearing installation training and tools; bearing/housing/main shaft inspection and analysis; bearing repair; main shaft repair and reconditioning; up-tower inspections; and more.

"We know that our customers need continuous, dependable wind turbine performance," said Hans Landin, director of Process Industries original equipment and wind energy at Timken. "The quality of our products – combined with our knowledge of wind turbine applications and our laser-like focus on customer service -- make Timken where the wind-energy industry turns for comprehensive, cost-effective aftermarket wind-energy solutions."

About The Timken Company

The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR; www.timken.com) keeps the world turning with innovative friction management and power transmission products and services that are critical to help hard-working machinery perform efficiently and reliably. With sales of $4.1 billion in 2010, and operations in 29 countries with approximately 20,000 people, Timken is Where You Turn® for better performance.

Contacts - Media: Lorrie Paul Crum, Ofc: 330.471.3514; Mob: 330.224.5021. [email protected]; Investors: Steve Tschiegg, Ofc: 330.471.7446. [email protected], The Timken Company.

SOURCE The Timken Company