The Timken Co. selected Japan’s Mitsubishi Nagasaki Machinery Mfg. Co. to supply an automated, in-line forge press for Timken’s Faircrest Steel Plant in Canton, Ohio. The press is expected to increase the company’s steel manufacturing capacity and enhance its product portfolio. Mitsubishi will supply a high-volume press and material-handling system to be installed upstream from the existing rolling mill at the Faircrest facility. Timken will use the 3,000-ton press, which is scheduled to begin operating in early 2013, to enhance the consistency of properties of its special-bar-quality steel.

The system will provide unique processing capabilities to further enhance bar quality and yield. According to Timken, the company has experienced a tremendous increase in demand for its high-quality steel products over the past year. Combined with its recent investments in large-bar inspection, this new forging capability will reinforce Timken's position as a provider of sound-center large bars of up to 16 inches in diameter.