Timken India Ltd. (a division of Timken, USA; NYSE: TKR) said its new USD $26 million greenfield plant near Chennai is on schedule and will soon begin manufacturing bearings.

Gordon Robinson, Managing Director of Timken India, indicated the first phase will come online shortly. It will reportedly be export-oriented, focused on the production of tapered roller bearings up to 12" OD, but avoiding low margin commoditized products.

Built in the Mahindra World City -- a special industrial park in the Chennai special economic zone -- plans for the factory were announced in late 2006.

Timken will build new bearing plant in India
Last week, Timken further reinforced its presence in India by opening a new distribution facility in the textile center of Coimbatore.

A new Distributor Training School was also launched recently. DTS is training on wheels, scheduled to visit every major Timken distributor and provide one-on-one training with on-board diagnostic and service tools. It is also set for a sales and service role, visiting key customers.

Another part of Timken's stepped-up presence in India is a $12-$15 million expansion effort underway at its existing Jamshedpur bearing plant.