The products are engineered to global standards to perform well under the toughest conditions, be it heavy loads or high speeds. The benefit of using Timken bearings is truly unmatched, says Sanjay Koul, Managing Director, Timken.

How do Timken’s aftermarket products improve commercial vehicle’s performance and reduce downtime and maintenance costs?
As we are the original OE fit in most of the cases, Timken bearings are designed for the application, keeping harsh conditions under the preview. So, when we use Timken products in the aftermarket, they help deliver better uptime and reduce fatigue on the application. The products are engineered to global standards to perform well under the toughest conditions, be it heavy loads or high speeds. The benefit of using Timken bearings is truly unmatched.

When it comes to selection, mounting, fitting, and setting of bearings for CVs and HCVs, what points must be noted?
Selection of the right bearing in any application is a very important first step. Timken works with the CVs and HCVs OEMs from the conceptual design stage. Bearings are selected and evaluated using a bearing system analysis program to meet the desired life and perform optimally under the given loads, speeds, and environmental conditions. In the next stage, the selected bearing should pass the extreme test conditions in the lab and field before it is considered for mass production.

Timken suggests and provides the mounting/dismounting, fitting practices (size of bearing seats) and settings (clearance or preload) for the selected bearing. An application’s performance in the field very much depends on implementing these suggestions. Innovative bearing setting techniques are provided by Timken that can be applied in a mass production environment where lower cycle times in production are appreciated by OEMs.

What kind of traction will the recently presented Budget offer Timken in 2021?
The Budget is industry-friendly. The biggest challenge for industries in India in the past had been policies that were not favourable for industrial growth. However, we’re now witnessing a swift change in this direction. With new, reformed industrial policies, India is poised to become a manufacturing powerhouse.