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The eBearing News
July 10, 2003
Timken Closing Three Regional Service Centers,
Consolidates to One CoLinx Facility
copyright © 2003 eBearing Inc.
The Timken Company (USA) will close three regional service centers (RSCs), consolidating them into
a single separate facility run by CoLinx, LLC.
CoLinx is a joint venture of INA Holding Schaeffler KG, Rockwell Automation, SKF AB, and Timken.
CoLinx was set up to share and leverage the distribution networks and related cost structures of the
founding companies. It currently employs over 360 people and operates over 800,000 square feet
of "semi-paperless" warehouses in six locations. CoLinx receives, ships, packages and labels product,
managing the transportation network and consolidating incoming and outgoing shipments.
CoLinx also operates PTplace.com, the online distribution service presence for the founding companies.
The three Timken RSCs -- Chicago, Illinois, Dallas, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio -- will be gradually phased
out and closed by November 1, 2003.
The existing CoLinx distribution center in Crossville, Tennessee will take over for the three RSCs.
The Crossville DC was recently expanded from 508,000 square feet to over 665,000 square feet; at the time,
insiders told eBearing the expansion was in anticipation of further RSC closings and inventory transfers.
Adding Crossville makes five Timken RSCs replaced by three CoLinx facilities; Reno/Sparks, Nevada
and Toronto/Mississauga, Ontario, Canada are the other two. Reno and Toronto had been Timken
RSCs until early 2002 when they were sold to CoLinx.
• article: Timken divests two DCs to CoLinx
Since the sale, Reno has been expanded from 60,000 square feet to 110,000 square feet.
Sharing and leveraging distribution facilities makes some business sense for the joint venture
partners, even though they are often competitors. As Timken pointed out, "Initial analysis conducted ... as
part of the CoLinx project indicated that 85% of our shipping regions were common among the CoLinx
founding members."
Timken will continue to operate its own distribution centers in Atlanta, Georgia, Bucyrus, Ohio, and
Spartanburg, South Carolina. Since the Torrington acquisition, these DCs handle Timken, Torrington,
Kilian and Fafnir bearings.
Although Timken will close the Chicago, Dallas and Columbus RSCs, those inventory assets will be
completely transferred to the CoLinx Crossville location.
Kari Groh, General Manager - Global Logistics and Customer Service for Industrial Distribution, said, "We
have been very pleased with both the service provided by CoLinx and how our relationship has developed
with its team of logistics professionals. They have a proven track record in providing outstanding service
to Timken and a number of other premium industrial brands. We are confident that this move -- much like
last year's moves of Reno and Toronto -- will occur in a fashion that's seamless to our customer base."
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- by Bruce A. Carr
from individual research,
tips and commercial sources.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered
trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright © 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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