Milestones in History - III - 3rd Period & Timken's Announcement

Milestones in The Torrington Company’s History
III - Third Period to 2002 & Timken’s Announcement

1966
- Sales amounted to $106 million.
- Constructed a sewing machine needle plant, Torrington Portuguesa S.A.R.L., in Aboboda, Portugal for cost reduction purposes.
- Leased a small factory for needle bearing assembly in Llagostera, Spain

1967
-Milton E. Berglund elected Chairman, William R. (Bob) Reid, Jr. named President with Don Lewis and Ray O’Connell as Executive Vice Presidents
-As U.S. knitting machine manufacturers failed to improve and speed up their machines, foreign manufacturers invaded the U.S. market with their superior machines and their own needle sources.
- Purchased Thomaston Special Tool and Manufacturing Company with its three plants in the vicinity of Torrington

1968
- Expanded the NTC plant in Takasaki, Japan.
- Introduced the heavy-wall drawn cup wheel bearing for cost savings on automotive axles and planet pinion shafts for automatic transmissions
- Acquired Vaill Engineering Company, a Waterbury, Connecticut manufacturer of machine tools used in the fabrication of tubular components thereby adding to its swaging expertise and to where the swaging operations were relocated to form the Machinery Division.
- Announced the signing of an agreement in principle (October 10, 1968) to merge with Ingersoll-Rand Company with final approval on December 30th. The Torrington Company becomes a wholly subsidiary of Ingersoll-Rand and after 102 years ceased to exist as an independent company.
-Torrington shareholders received one share of I-R $2.35 preferred stock plus .4 share of I-R common stock for each share of Torrington stock. The new dividend amounted to $3.15 per share vs. the $1.60 paid by Torrington.

1969
-Built a new plant for the Specialties Division in Honea Path, South Carolina freeing space at the Standard and Broad Street plants.

1970
- Construction of a new headquarters building in Torrington, Connecticut was completed
- Resumed production of ball bearings at the Standard Plant for GM’s telescoping tilt-wheel mechanism.
- Demand for flatstock latch type knitting needles sharply increased. Fully struck tufting needles were introduced.
- Super precision helicopter needle bearings were also in great demand.
- The Bantam Division grew its production of large O.D. tapered roller bearings.
- Acquired Harrington Tool & Die Co., Ltd. Of Lachine, Quebec, supplier of needle-making machinery..
- Volume production of steering column U-joints is established at the Thomaston Special Products subsidiary.
- Hawksbury Gauge & Tool Company, Ltd. acquired to expand Coventry’s tooling capacity.
- Established the manufacture of needle bearings in an addition to the Ingersoll-Rand facility in Dandenong, Australia.

1971
- Torrington International Needle Bearing Sales and Planning Office (TISPO) set up in Coventry coordinating the production of needle bearings at Wurselen and Coventry.

1972
- Moved the U-joint operations from Coventry to Binley and shut down the spoke, nipple, screw, bolt and knitting needle business
- The Torrington Company, Ltd. purchased the closed down plant of the Lightning Fastener Division of Textron near Bedford to manufacture needle rollers and to assemble needle bearings for Canadian customers; expanded it in 1973.
- Acquired Wesco Industries Corporation of Plainview, Long Island, a maker of stop-motion devices for knitting machines.
- Sales of $115.8 million

1973
- A new plant in Sylvania, Georgia was constructed to concentrate on high-volume, pressed-metal bearings, primarily for the auto industry
- New plant built in Cairo, Georgia to produce machined-race bearings exclusively.
- Constructed an addition to the Nova Friburgo, Brazil plant to start a limited manufacture of needle bearings and U-Joints.

1975
-Acquired Kilian Manufacturing Corporation of Syracuse, N.Y. and its affiliate of Toronto, Canada. Kilian produced industrial casters and hardware-quality unground ball bearings for a variety of applications of non-exacting tolerances.
- Shut down Torrington S.p.A., the knitting needle plant in Genoa, Italy

1977
- The Specialties, Thomaston Special Products and Machinery divisions were consolidated into one entity, The Torrington Special Products Division
- Layoffs and cutbacks were effected in the Needle Division. Operating losses were recorded in the past three years.
- Suffered through a left wing military coup in Portugal and successfully resumed operations.

1978
- Knitting needle manufacture at the Excelsior plant was shut down with a consolidation of operations at Walhalla and the Canadian plant
- The spoke and nipple business is sold to Monogram Industries.
- A new Bearing Test Lab is added north of the Excelsior plant consolidating all needle bearing test operations as well as outboard engine testing.

1979
- Valve lifter roller assemblies are introduced and precisely ground pump vanes for auto power steering and transmissions are produced in massive quantities
- Special Products in Thomaston successfully produced intricate staple cartridges for surgical staplers
- NTC’s Takasaki plant further expanded.

1980
- In an attempt to prevent a monopoly, the Federal Trade Commission disallowed the sale of the knitting needle business to Groz-Beckert a German company.
- Torrington’s needle making business closed.
- SMN, FN and HN lines were sold to Groz-Beckert USA along with the SMN plant in Abobada, Portugal
- Sold the small needle bearing plant in Llagostera, Spain.

1981
- Employees bought-out the knitting needle operation in Bedford, Canada, and consolidated the transfer of U.S.A knitting needle assets into a new corporation, EXELTOR
- The industrial stitching machine operation sold to Puritan Industries, Inc. of Collinsville, Connecticut.
- Torrington is re-branded under a new I-R corporate identity program
- Thomas E. Bennett, a 30 year I-R veteran, replaced Ray O’Connell as President and vowed to continue its independence.
- A plant in Dahlonega , Georgia came on stream dedicated to producing needle rollers
- Shiloh factory at Rutherfordton, North Carolina started up specializing in heavy-duty roller bearings
- Walhalla plant converted from making needles to manufacturing automotive needle thrust bearings

1982
- Wurselen manufacturing facility converted into the European Central Warehouse (ECW) stocking bearing finished goods

1983
- Excelsior plant is renovated into modern offices to house the engineering and administrative functions of the Heavy Bearings division relocated from South Bend.
- Indiana manufacturing operations relocated to more modern facilities in the South.
- A separate Torrington International Division was formed to complement the existing Needle Bearings, Heavy Bearings and Special Products operating divisions.
- Product Division sales forces combined into a unified marketing approach.
- Broad Street (built in 1952) operations transferred to Dahlonega and plant closed.
- Manufacturing Development Center (MDC) constructed in Norcross, Georgia focusing on the latest in processing and machinery technology.
- Reached an agreement with Société Nouvelle de Roulements (SNR) of Annecy, France to exchange ideas and technology. Led to the development of sensor bearings

1984
- With SNR, acquired an equal equity in the French bearing manufacturer, Roulements Nadella specializing in metric needle roller bearings with plants at Vierzon and Maromme
- Signed a technology transfer agreement with Suzhou Bearings Factory in Jiangsu , China to provide training and technical expertise.

1985
- Merged with Fafnir Bearing Company, a division of Textron, bringing total sales to $750 million and making Torrington the largest broad-line bearings manufacturer in the U.S.A.
- Aerospace bearings were concentrated at Fafnir’s new Newington, Connecticut plant, production of other bearings reassigned to Torrington plants and its Arkadelphia, Arkansas and New Britain, Connecticut plants were eventually closed.
- Through Nadella, had a 26 per cent shareholding in the equity capital of Needle Roller Bearing Company Limited of India (NRB)
- Through the Nadella joint venture, acquired a minority interest in Industria Cuscinetti S.p.A (ICSA) of Turin, Italy a spherical roller bearing manufacturer.
- The Export-Import Consolidation Center in Torrington, CT became operational with the ECW in Wurselen facilitating product distribution internationally.

1987
- Precision Components Division in England produced complete steering column assemblies and the new tubular design
-Acquired commercial bearing assets of New Departure Hyatt, a division of General Motors

1988
-Established a joint concern with Nippon Seiko K.K. to make steering systems for Japanese cars being built in North America. The new company, Nastech Inc. of Bennington, VT started production of standard and tilt steering systems for passenger cars and light trucks early in

1989.
-Formed a partnership with the Norton Company of Worcester, Massachusetts, CERBEC Ceramic Bearings Company in East Grandby, Connecticut to specialize in ceramic and hybrid bearings. Partnership dissolved in 1991.
- New Forge Shop completed on the grounds of the Tyger River plant in Union, S.C.

1989
- Steering column operations are consolidated at the Torrington Avenue plant in Coventry
- Joint venture formed with Georg Mueller Nuernberg AG (GMN) of Germany for the high volume manufacture of electric-motor-quality radial ball bearings in Rockford, Illinois.
- Bearing Test Laboratory in Torrington expanded.
- Sold Harrington Tool & Die, Inc. along with the machinery building operations formerly of Waterbury that had been relocated to the Lachine facilities.
- NTC built the new Yawata plant in Takasaki.

1980 and 1990s
- Total Quality Management (TQM) program adopted.
- Sensor bearings are developed.
- Precision Components Division developed a new composite camshaft for automobile engines.
- Import throughout the U.S. of ball and roller bearings surged. Anti dumping charges were substantiated and filed. Transshipping is also documented. Some relief obtained.

1992
- Withdrew from jet engine segment of the market and the Newington plant.
- Shiloh plant committed to the manufacture of super precision machine tool bearings

1997
-Jerry Toupin, a Torrington engineer, was vice president/general manager of Fafnir Bearings Division

1998
-Sold Fafnir’s former Wolverhampton (U.K.) factory to Timken.


1999
Bearing sales estimated at $1.43 billion

2000
-NSK Ltd of Japan acquired 100-percent ownership of Nastech the joint venture between Torrington and NSK Ltd of Japan. It had achieved $100 million in sales to Japanese transplant as well as US auto manufacturers

2001
- Acquired full ownership of Nadella S.A. of France a previously formed venture with SNR Roulements of Annecy,
-Timken experienced losses and cut dividend to $0.52 per share, a 83% payout for the following year.

2002
-Bearings industry appears to be in cyclical trough
- Ingersoll-Rand reported a loss of $173.5 million on sales of $8.9 billion
-Timken approaches Ingersoll- Rand to purchase the industrial side of Torrington’s business but soon got interested in its entirety as it realized Torrington’s automotive business was stronger than originally thought.
-Torrington sales
............73% North America
............17% Europe
............10% Elsewhere
- October 16, Timken announced its intent to acquire The Torrington Company from Ingersoll-Rand

End


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