Timken sets up R&D unit in Bangalore

Bangalore: Timken, the alloy steel and bearing major yesterday opened its second biggest research and development centre in the world near Bangalore.

With an investment of around $12 million, the technology centre is one of the 10 research facilities of Timken around the world. "This engineering centre puts our friction management expertise close to our customers," said James W. Griffith, president and CEO.

Timken Engineering and Research India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Timken India in which Timken holds 80 per cent stake; the rest is with the public. Griffith said that Bangalore provides excellent engineering and information technology talent. "We are setting up this centre because of the immense talent pool available here and not because of any cost advantage," he added.

Burkhard Stumpf, country manager for Engineering and Research, said that the centre has around 250 engineers and a total capacity of 370. It carries out work in the areas of product development, design of certain types of bearings and IT-related services.

Timken set up its first research centre in Bangalore in 1998. The new centre expands those engineering operations and provides support services to meet the global needs of the company. The company spends around $50 million every year on research and development.