Bush to Timkin Corp (OH), Tanks for the memories..three plants to close.

This firm, which was highlighted in a Bush TV photo op visit to Ohio last year, has announced the closing of three Ohio plants.

(a follow up piece from today's Lou Dobbs show)

(edit corp name courtesy of "Old and In the Way")

They manufactured tapered roller bearings and ball bearings for the industrial/automotive sectors. This is really not good news for American industry.

for American industry.

The article no longer seems to be online, but last year I copied out a couple of paragraphs about Timken:

"Chairman W.R. 'Tim' Timken Jr. has long been involved in Republican Party politics on both the state and national levels. He has been a major donor and fund-raiser, having been host to Bush at a private luncheon during the 2000 presidential campaign. Fewer than 100 people attended the exclusive event at Timken's Tudor mansion, deep in exclusive Hills and Dales village.

"The Timken Co. chairman long ago assumed the Timken patriarch's traditional leadership role in Republican politics and philanthropy. He has long been on record in favor of enacting policies to stimulate economic growth, and he spoke out frequently on the subject during his tenure as chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers."

Timken is also on the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution at Stanford and on the Board of Directors of Diebold. In short, he's a major right-wing Republican power broker. He's not just one more local businessman who Bush did a photo op with and then let down.

From opensecrets.org:

http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.asp?txtName=Timken&txtState=&txtZip=&txtEmploy=&txtCand=&txt2004=Y&txt2002=&txt2000=&txt1998=&txt1996=&txt1994=&txt1992=&txt1990=&txtSoft=N&Order=A&Cycles=1&Cycle1=2004&Cycle2=&Cycle3=&Page=1

.. both headquartered in this Ohio industrial city? I know Timking has (or had?) a big plant there.

Thanks for the reminder.

Don

If USA doesn't have a capability to make precision ball bearings and our country is placed on a embargo, then you can kiss all the industrial sector goodbye. To say nothing of even having the ability to defend our country in a real war. Wouldn't even be able to grow food the way we do as the tractors breakdown.

What is wrong with those idiots in DC?

Ball bearing production should be a strategic industry and protected by tariffs. The fact is, they were as far as I know up until 2002 because I know customs placed special tariffs on imported bearings. I know this because I remember getting a lot of delays clearing customs while they checked our containers for bearings being shipped in from Europe. We had special instructions in the company to buy bearings locally or else our containers would be delayed.

Sounds like to me Washington is trying to kill America. This goes beyond incompetence. Our country is being placed at the mercy of foreign powers.

for poppy and Saddam tried to kill his poppy in his hateful
vengence filled mind is payback to everything/everyone who
was not "loyal to the BFEE"....We know this family and everyone
of them are vengeful, mean bastards. They'll do anything to
anyone without any regard or consequences.