Timken & NSK To Serve Toyota With Tapered Roller Bearings

    CANTON, Ohio, Aug. 23 The Timken Company and NSK Ltd. have
reached an agreement to jointly supply tapered roller bearing products and
services to Toyota Motor Corporation and its affiliates.
    
    This agreement between Timken and NSK positions the companies to satisfy
Toyota's global needs for tapered roller bearing applications.

    "Timken is a global leader in tapered roller bearings with production
sites around the world. Toyota has been one of the most important customers of
NSK, which is a major producer of tapered roller bearings in Japan. The
combination of those capabilities will provide Toyota with an improved supply
base," said Tetsuo Sekiya, president and chief executive officer of NSK Ltd.

    "Timken and NSK have served Toyota independently in many parts of the
world.  Working cooperatively, we can offer to Toyota global production
capabilities and can provide innovative bearing solutions faster," said James
W. Griffith, president and chief operating officer - The Timken Company.  "The
result is a mutually beneficial agreement that offers Toyota reduced overall
cost while providing our companies the opportunity for independent profitable
growth."

    Timken and NSK will serve Toyota through customer satisfaction teams
comprised of sales, marketing and engineering professionals from each company.
The teams will be supported by the resources of each company, including
application engineering, order fulfillment and manufacturing support.

    "Although talks with NSK earlier this year were discontinued, NSK recently
approached us again with this targeted opportunity to serve Toyota.  It offers
Timken an additional opportunity that is aligned with the company's growth
objectives," said Mr. Griffith.

    The Timken Company ( http://www.timken.com ) is a leading
international manufacturer of highly engineered bearings, alloy and specialty
steels and components, as well as a provider of related products and services.
With operations in 24 countries, the company employs about 19,700 people
worldwide and recorded 2000 sales of U.S. $2.6 billion.