The Timken Company is a global manufacturer of bearings and power transmission products. Timken operates from 42 countries. Company history In 1898, Henry Timken obtained a patent for an improved tapered roller bearing, and in 1899 incorporated as The Timken Roller Bearing Axle Company in St. Louis. In 1901, the company moved to Canton, Ohio, as the automobile industry began to overtake the carriage industry. Timken and his two sons chose this location because of its proximity to the American car manufacturing centers of Detroit and Cleveland and the American steel-making centers of Pittsburgh and Cleveland. In 1917, the company began its steel- and tube-making operations in Canton to vertically integrate and maintain better control over the steel used in its bearings. World War I had created an increase in demand for steel, affecting its supply and price in the market. Timken entered international markets in the early 1900s, establishing a presence initially in Great Britain, France and Germany. The performance of Timken tapered roller bearings in World War I military equipment made an impression on the European bearing market. After the war, Great Britain rose to the position of #2 in the global automotive manufacturing market, creating opportunities for Timken to expand its European manufacturing presence. Timken entered the Great Depression in a strong financial position and its performance placed it in the ranks of the most solid, well-managed industrial firms of the 1930s. Expanding into non-automotive markets like agriculture, machine tooling, industrial and rail softened the impact. During World War II, Timken production increased dramatically to keep up with wartime demand. For instance, every U.S. jeep was built using 24 Timken® bearings. With 660,000 jeeps delivered to the U.S. military, Timken delivered more than 15.8 million bearings for those vehicles over the course of the war. Following the war, much of the machinery shipped to Europe under the Marshall Plan was Timken-bearing equipped, helping Timken establish a broader presence in a bearing market where European competitors had dominated. By 1960, Timken had operations in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, France, South Africa, Australia and Brazil. Timken Research was created in 1966 to establish technological leadership and to help standardize research and development processes across the company. Timken expanded into new global markets throughout the 1970s and 1980s, establishing a sales operation in Japan in 1974 and opening sales offices in Italy, Korea, Singapore and Venezuela in 1988. By