The Timken Company (USA) has extended its worldwide network of rail bearing reconditioning services to include axle boxes, housings and cylindrical and spherical bearing boxes.

Timken's six rail bearing reconditioning facilities -- in Brazil, India, Mexico, South Africa, the U.K. and the U.S.A. -- already offer reconditioning for cylindrical bearing journal boxes and Timken tapered roller bearing housings.

Timken has been reconditioning tapered roller bearings for railroad axles for more than 40 years. The new services help open another avenue for sales improvement in an otherwise generally shrinking rail bearing market.

Due to the extremely high cost of new rail bearings and the advent of advanced reconditioning techniques, reconditioned rail bearings are now more common than new ones. Reconditioned bearings save 60% to 70% over the cost of new bearings.

In North America alone, the market for reconditioned railcar journal roller bearings is estimated at over one million units per year, roughly double the market for new bearings. In that reconditioned bearing market, divisions of Timken and Brenco combine for an 85% market share; RBI claims the remaining 15%.

Thomas Dupaski, President - Rail, said, "This is a natural expansion of our services which is based on our customer needs. It builds upon both the capabilities of our reconditioning facilities and our engineering knowledge in rail applications. It's a growth opportunity for our rail business that brings value to both customers and shareholders."