The above 1940s Timken promotional advertisement showcases a futuristic design for the truck of the future, a concept created by NYC industrial designer Lurelle Guild (1898-1985). He was quite optimistic about manufacturers bringing his truck concept to reality. Only with Timken axles, of course. Among his designs displayed in art museums was his iconic cylindrical design of the 1937 Electrolux vacuum cleaner. A modified model even became a laser weapon prop in the movie, Superman and the Mole Men (1951).
The German-born Henry Timken (1831-1909) could not possibly have imagined such fantastic transportation in 1888. But one cannot move a wheel without bearings. He obtained a patent for an improved tapered roller bearing, and in 1899, incorporated The Timken Roller Bearing Axle Company in St. Louis. The company moved to Canton, Ohio, in 1901 as the automobile industry began to overtake the carriage industry.
Timken entered international markets in the early 1900s, initially in Great Britain, France, and Germany. The performance of Timken bearings in the First World War made an impression on the European bearing market. Timken production increased dramatically during the Second World War to keep up with wartime demand. Every U.S. Jeep was built using 24 Timken bearings. It resulted in delivering more than 15.8 million bearings for those vehicles over the course of the war.
Starting in the 1960s, Timken saw greater worldwide expansion. With the purchase of a major competitor, the company doubled in size in the early twenty-first century. Today, the Timken Company is a global manufacturer of bearings and power transmission products operating in forty-two countries. Apparently, Guild's "future truck" is yet to come.
