Timken Buying Specialty Bearing Producer

July 20, 2010
QM Bearings and Power Transmission supplies spherical roller bearings for logging equipment

The Timken Company is buying a specialty bearings manufacturer in a bid to expand the range of markets it supplies. QM Bearings and Power Transmission Inc., in Ferndale, Wash., manufactures spherical roller bearing steel-housed units and elastomeric and steel couplings used in sawmill and logging operations, among other specialty applications.

The value of the purchase was not revealed. QM Bearings and Power Transmission began business in 1951 manufacturing products for sawmill and logging customers in the Northwest, later starting to design and produce bearings that withstand the demanding service of logging equipment.

Timken noted the QM products will enhance its ability to serve markets that require high-performance, durable products, such as the forestry industry.

Timken produces a wide range of friction management products, like bearings, as well as power transmission products. It said that QM's product line will complement its recently introduced Type E tapered roller bearings, and strengthen the Timken brand in the roller housed unit segment.

"QM is a great addition for Timken, with a solid, value-added product line that extends our portfolio to offer a wider selection of high-performance products for our customers in the process industries," stated Timken Process Industries president Chris Coughlin. "These units are an excellent fit with our existing product line and Timken's focus on distribution will provide greater opportunity as we extend them further in the global aftermarket channel."