FORT SCOTT, Kan.—Timken Co., a producer of engineered bearings and power transmission components, will "gradually wind down" its belt production plant in eastern Kansas and close the facility some time next year.
Timken sent a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) to the 155 employees at the plant Nov. 30, 2023, that it will shutter the Fort Scott facility by 2025.
"While difficult, we're making this change to streamline our operations and restructure our manufacturing footprint to better compete in a global market," a spokesperson for Timken said in an email to Rubber News Jan. 10.
The company said it plans to provide retention and severance pay, benefits planning services and on-site counseling to affected workers.
"We wanted to be transparent and provide as much time as possible so employees can plan for their future," the spokesperson said. "We're committed to providing at least 60 days notice prior to an employee's last day."
Kansas Works, where the WARN also was filed Jan. 8, is an online resource for job seekers, employers and training providers. According to the site, an employer with more than 100 workers must file the WARN, which gives employees a 60-day notice of a plant's closure.
Timken's Fort Scott location is ISO-certified and produces heavy duty belts for the aggregate and mining, power sports, oil and gas, agriculture and forest products industries, among many others.
Timken has similar manufacturing facilities in Springfield, Mo., for its heavy duty belting line, and in fact produces most of the belts there at this point.
Timken Belts include synchronous belts, heavy duty industrial V-belts, banded belts, light-duty FHP V-belts, specialty belts and agricultural belts, as well as sprockets, sheaves and bushings, and tools.
The company uses a range of elastomers, from EPDM to neoprene, and maintains the ability to mix compounds on-site for customized performance traits.
The Timken Co. has been in business for more than 100 years. It posted $4.5 billion in sales in 2022 and employs more than 19,000 people across the globe.
In 2015, Timken purchased Carlisle Belting.
