Timken Secures Bearing Order for Liebherr's Largest Mining Truck:

Timken Secures Bearing Order for Liebherr's Largest Mining Truck

CANTON, Ohio, July 12 -- The Timken Company announced today that it was selected as the supplier for the wheel bearings on the world's largest mining truck, the new Liebherr T282 B. Measuring 7.4 meters (24 feet) high, 8.8 meters (29 feet) wide and 14.5 meters (47 feet) long, the Liebherr truck has a payload of 363 metric tons (399 tons).

To put its size into perspective, the Liebherr T282 B is nearly the size of a two-story, 251- to 279-square meter (2,700- to 3,000-square-foot) house. It debuted to more than 400,000 attendees at the Bauma 2004 construction and mining equipment exhibit in Munich, Germany, and will make its United States debut in Las Vegas at the MINExpo Show in September.

Eight Timken(R) tapered roller bearings are included on the axles of the truck, two per wheel. The front wheel bearings have a 470 mm (18.33-inch) bore and 650 mm (25.35-inch) outside diameter. The rear wheel bores are 750 mm (29.25-inch) and have a 990 mm (38.61-inch) outside diameter. The bearings are made at Timken plants in Europe and the United States. The trucks are assembled at Liebherr's Newport News, Va. facility.

"Our relationship with Liebherr has grown over the years because our technical capabilities and short lead times are in line with its values," said Paul Schulte, Timken industrial sales manager for Germany, Austria, Greece and Switzerland. "It is exciting to be involved with machinery of this size. The size and load requirements of such a vehicle require special attention and we're proud to be chosen by Liebherr to supply these bearings for its new vehicle."

Liebherr ( www.liebherr.com ) is not only one of the world's leading manufacturers of construction machinery, but is also an acknowledged supplier of technically innovative, user-oriented products and services in numerous other fields. Since 1949, this family business has grown into a group of companies, The Liebherr Group, employing a workforce of approximately 21,000 in more than 90 countries.