Union: Timken plant in Springfield set to close amid sale of belts business

Last edited 1:10 p.m., May 4, 2026 [Editor's note: A WARN notice was filed with the state after publication.]

A corporate acquisition announced this week will prompt the closure of a Springfield manufacturing plant with almost 70 years of business history, union officials say.

Ohio-based Timken Co. (NYSE:TKR) today announced it’s selling its belts business to Colorado-based Gates Industrial Corporation (NYSE: GTES).

Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed, Timken officials said in a news release.

In a social media post yesterday, officials with Springfield-based United Steelworkers Local 662L said that Springfield’s Timken Belts plant at 2601 W. Battlefield Road “was not part of that purchase.”

“As a result, the Springfield plant will be permanently closed in the second half of this year,” labor union officials wrote on Facebook.

A letter dated May 1 from Timken officials was filed with state workforce authorities and local officials under the requirements of the federal Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification Act. It confirms the plant closure, set to take place beginning in August 2026 with all separations from employment to be completed by December 2026.

The Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development noted on its website that 283 jobs would be affected by the Timken plant closure.

A Timken spokesperson shared a statement with SBJ this morning on the sale of the company’s belts business.

“The agreement to sell our belts business to Gates is consistent with our near-term strategic priorities and our 80/20 approach to structurally improve margins, grow faster in the most profitable verticals and create value for shareholders,” the statement reads. “Gates is a global leader in power transmission products, and we believe that Gates is the right owner to guide this business forward.”

The statement did not address the status of the Springfield plant.USW officials said in the post that they plan to begin bargaining over severance and benefits as soon as possible.

The Timken Belts plant, located near the Battlefield Road and Scenic Avenue intersection, makes power transmission belts for use in industrial, commercial and consumer applications, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

In their news release announcing the sale to Gates, Timken officials thanked employees in the belts division for their contributions over the years. They also noted the sale is consistent with Timken’s business strategy.

"We are applying this same rigor across our portfolio to ensure we leverage our core competencies where they drive the greatest impact,” said Lucian Boldea, Timken president and CEO, in release.

In the news release, Timken officials said the company expects the divestiture of the belts business to improve margins in its Industrial Motion division for adjusted EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The company plans to inform investors of the sale’s estimated impact to margins on May 20, according to the release.

Proceeds from the sale are to be used to fund Timken’s capital allocation priorities, officials said in the release. The sale is expected to close sometime in the third quarter of this year, the release stated.

It was not immediately clear how many Springfield-based jobs would be affected by the sale.

In early January 2025, according to past SBJ coverage, a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice filed with Missouri workforce authorities by Timken noted that the Springfield Timken Belts plant would reduce its headcount by 97 positions, or some 40% of the workforce employed at the Springfield facility.

The WARN Act filing by Timken indicated layoffs were to begin in March and be completed by the end of the year.

"While difficult, we make staffing decisions at our facilities based on a continuous review of our long-term capacity plans, cost competitiveness and customer demand," a Timken spokesperson told SBJ in an email last year.

Shares in Timken were trading at $109.61 at 9:50 a.m., down from $111 as markets opened this morning, on a 52-week range of $65.49-$111.64, according to Yahoo Finance.

The Battlefield Road facility previously operated as Carlisle Power Transmission Products, according to SBJ archives. Timken purchased it from New York private equity group American Industrial Partners in 2015, along with a plant in Fort Scott, Kansas, for around $220 million.