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Timken

Timken was founded in 1899 in Missouri by Henry Timken. Timken is the largest America bearing producer and a major alloy steelmaker, Timken patented design was demonstrably superior to any other bearing in the market place, they went public in 1922, and there company stock was also first issued to the public in the same year.
The largest steelmaker is facing one of the toughest labor negotiations in its history, the global competition had flooded the company's market, the company had been running up looses for the first time since its founding. As the 1980s began, Timken was still the dominant force in the American bearing industry, controlling about 25 percent of the U.S. bearings market, and 75 percent of the market for tapered roller bearings. In 1981 the company earned $101 million on sales of $1.4 billion. The 1980s proved to be a difficult decade for Timken, however. The company reported a loss of $3 million in 1982, its first unprofitable year since the Depression. Part of the problem was the flood of cheap bearings entering the United States.
The company also has some problems internally, which has to do recession impact on the labor relations. The recession impact was that of the unionized responses to the company's new economic situation that came with the 1982 contract negotiation for fairest.
A lot of reform and reorganization took place in the company, the success of the 1983 negotiation was as a result of new employee communications program, and the negotiation doubled the size of Timken. The company's $450 million Faircrest Steel Plant went into production in 1985. In 1985, reorganization took place to determine how workers could improve productivity.
My recommendations for the company include the following: Timken should focus more on real time enterprise management information, maximizes productivity and improves responsiveness to customers, and also by launching an aggressive media relations program.
Did some research on Timken; found out...