---

The Timken Company Hosts Centennial Celebration in Buenos Aires

25 January 1999

The Timken Company Hosts Centennial Celebration in Buenos Aires, Argentina

    CANTON, Ohio, Jan. 25 -- Associates at The Timken Company's
sales office and distribution center in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
joined in the company's global Centennial commemoration, marking the company's
100th anniversary, at a customer dinner at Michaelangelo's, a restored
monastery.
    "This Centennial celebration is a fine opportunity to congratulate
Argentine associates on their significant accomplishments," said W. R. Timken,
chairman, president and CEO.  "The Buenos Aires sales office also is
commemorating its 50th anniversary this year.  It's an appropriate time to
congratulate the Argentine team on their commitment to the area and the solid
relationships they've cultivated with customers over the years, some of which
stretch back three decades."
    The theme of the Centennial, 'Building on Yesterday, Inventing
Tomorrow(TM)', delivers a message for the company's commemoration events.
"Associates may take pride in their part of this company's solid legacy," said
Mr. Timken.  "Our associates have made The Timken Company the success it is
today, even as they carry this company into the next century and beyond."
The following day, a celebration for Timken Argentina associates was held at
the La Martina Ranch.  Folk, tango and jazz music set the tone for the day's
events.  W. R. Timken, Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer;
his wife, Susan, and W. J. Timken, Jr., vice president-Latin America, were
guests at the event.  W. J. Timken spoke to the gathering, thanking associates
for their hard work and many accomplishments.
    The distribution facility in Argentina stocks more than 100,000 bearing
components and assemblies, which are provided to distributors in the
automotive and industrial markets.  Sales areas include Argentina, Chile,
Paraguay and Uruguay.  Customers include the most important bearing
distributors and companies such as Volkswagen, AGCO, Dana -- Talesol and Dana
Spicer -- Ejes Pesados.
    The Argentine location plays a solid role in the company's growth
strategy, and management believes that focusing on emerging markets now will
pay off in the long term.  Timken is working to increase sales outside the
U.S. to 40 percent of total company sales, and establishing sales facilities
in countries with growing economies such as Argentina allows for the
establishment of a solid distribution network from which other South American
markets can be serviced.
    The Timken Company (http://www.timken.com) is a leading international
manufacturer of highly engineered bearings and alloy steels with operations in
25 countries.  The company employs 21,000 people worldwide and reported 1998
sales of more than $2.6 billion.