-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----
Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR
Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov
Originator-Key-Asymmetric:
 MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen
 TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB
MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA,
 FYlm2aQ4MRlYAkDHBB+EGRIwtkqL4EE+iSsKl8k2GAKqXrVUOHz8DdyL0TexdHbJ
 ARYjy4EVllWx1RakFRrzEw==

<SEC-DOCUMENT>0000950152-08-000276.txt : 20080303
<SEC-HEADER>0000950152-08-000276.hdr.sgml : 20080303
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20080115165305
<PRIVATE-TO-PUBLIC>
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0000950152-08-000276
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	CORRESP
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		2
FILED AS OF DATE:		20080115

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			TIMKEN CO
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000098362
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	BALL & ROLLER BEARINGS [3562]
		IRS NUMBER:				340577130
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			OH
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		CORRESP

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		1835 DUEBER AVE SW
		CITY:			CANTON
		STATE:			OH
		ZIP:			44706-2798
		BUSINESS PHONE:		3304713078

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	TIMKEN ROLLER BEARING CO
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19710304
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>CORRESP
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>filename1.htm
<TEXT>
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>The Timken Company   Corresp</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<!-- PAGEBREAK -->
<H5 align="left" style="page-break-before:always">&nbsp;</H5><P>
<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif">

<P><DIV style="position: relative; float: left; width: 25%">

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt"><IMG src="l29552al2955290.gif">

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt"><B>William Burkhart</B><BR>
<FONT style="font-size:8pt">Senior Vice President and</FONT><BR>
<FONT style="font-size:8pt">General Counsel</FONT>

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 96pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 96pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt"><B>The Timken Company</B><BR>
<FONT style="font-size:8pt">Mail Code: GNE-14</FONT><BR>
<FONT style="font-size:8pt">1835 Dueber Ave SW</FONT><BR>
<FONT style="font-size:8pt">PO Box 6928</FONT><BR>
<FONT style="font-size:8pt">Canton, OH 44706-0928</FONT><BR>
<FONT style="font-size:8pt">United States</FONT>

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt"><FONT style="font-size:8pt">Telephone: 330-471-3002</FONT><BR>
<FONT style="font-size:8pt">Facsimile: 330-471-4041</FONT>

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt"><FONT style="font-size:8pt">william.burkhart@timken.com</FONT>

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>
</DIV>
<DIV style="position: relative; float: right; width: 75%">
<P>
<DIV style="width: 100%; border-left: 1px solid black; padding: 11px;">

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">

<DIV align="Center" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="Center" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="Center" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">January&nbsp;15, 2008

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">Securities and Exchange Commission<BR>
100 F Street, N.E.<BR>
Mail Stop 4651<BR>
Washington, DC 20549<BR>
Attention: Timothy A. Geishecker, Senior Counsel

</DIV>
<DIV align="left">
<TABLE style="font-size: 10pt" cellspacing="0" border="0" cellpadding="0" width="35%">
<!-- Begin Table Head -->
<TR valign="bottom">
    <TD width="12%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="6%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="80%">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR>
<!-- End Table Head -->
<!-- Begin Table Body -->
<TR valign="bottom">
    <TD align="right" valign="top"><DIV style="margin-left:0px; text-indent:-0px"><B>Re:</B>
</DIV></TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD align="left" valign="top"><B>Timken Co.<BR>
Definitive 14A<BR>
Filed on March&nbsp;23, 2007<BR>
File Number 001-01169</B><BR></TD>
</TR>
<TR style="font-size: 1px">
    <TD align="right" valign="top"><DIV style="margin-left:0px; text-indent:-0px">&nbsp;
</DIV></TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD align="left" valign="top" style="border-top: 1px solid #000000">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR>
<!-- End Table Body -->
</TABLE>
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 12pt">Dear Mr.&nbsp;Geishecker:
</DIV>


<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Timken Company, an Ohio corporation (the &#147;<B><I>Company</I></B>&#148;), is submitting this letter in response
to the second comment letter from the staff (the &#147;<B><I>Staff</I></B>&#148;) of the Securities and Exchange Commission
(the &#147;<B><I>Commission</I></B>&#148;), dated December&nbsp;20, 2007 (the &#147;<B><I>Comment Letter</I></B>&#148;), with respect to the Company&#146;s
definitive proxy statement on Schedule&nbsp;14A filed on March&nbsp;23, 2007 (the &#147;<B><I>2007 Proxy Statement</I></B>&#148;).
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Below are the Company&#146;s responses to each comment in the Comment Letter. For the convenience
of the Staff, we have repeated each of the Staff&#146;s comments before the response.
</DIV>

<DIV style="margin-top: 6pt">
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="1%" nowrap align="left"><I>1.</I></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD><I>We note your response to comment number 3. Please respond by explaining what you mean by
&#147;disclosure would result in competitive harm.&#148; For example, please describe with respect to
the requirements of Schedule&nbsp;14A the disclosure of which would result in competitive harm.</I></TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<U>Response</U>:
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the Company&#146;s initial response letter to the Staff, dated November&nbsp;26, 2007, the Company
stated that, &#147;&#091;i&#093;n future filings, the Company anticipates disclosing its historical performance
targets considered in determining the amounts payable to the named executive officers under the
Senior Executive Management Performance Plan and for performance units under the Long-Term
Incentive Plan for the prior year, except to the extent such disclosure would result in competitive
harm.&#148; The Company included the phrase &#147;except to the extent such disclosure would result in
competitive harm&#148; in its initial response simply to acknowledge that the Company would conduct a
new competitive harm analysis, as contemplated by Instruction 4 to Item 402(b) of Regulation&nbsp;S-K,
and assess the appropriateness of historical performance target disclosure based on the facts and
circumstances at the time of each disclosure.
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Company supplementally advises the Staff that, to the extent the Company continues to use
the same or substantially similar historical performance
</DIV>
</DIV>


</DIV>
<BR clear="all"><BR>
</DIV>

<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt"><!-- Folio -->&nbsp;<!-- /Folio -->
</DIV>

<!-- PAGEBREAK -->
<P><HR noshade><P>
<H5 align="left" style="page-break-before:always">&nbsp;</H5><P>

<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif">
<P><DIV style="position: relative; float: left; width: 25%">

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt"><FONT style="font-size:8pt">Securities and Exchange Commission</FONT><BR>
<FONT style="font-size:8pt">January&nbsp;15, 2008</FONT><BR>
<FONT style="font-size:8pt">Page 2</FONT>

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 36pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 96pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 96pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 96pt">&nbsp;

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt"><B>The Timken Company</B>

</DIV>
</DIV>
<DIV style="position: relative; float: right; width: 75%">
<P>
<DIV style="width: 100%; border-left: 1px solid black; padding: 11px;">

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">

<DIV align="left" style="margin-left: 0%; text-indent: 0%; margin-right: 0%; font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">measures that it described in its 2007
Proxy Statement under the same or similar circumstances, the Company will disclose its historical
performance targets in its future filings requiring disclosure under Item&nbsp;402 of Regulation&nbsp;S-K,
including the Company&#146;s definitive proxy statement for the Company&#146;s 2008 annual meeting of
shareholders (the &#147;<B><I>2008 Proxy Statement</I></B>&#148;).</DIV>


<DIV style="margin-top: 6pt">
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="1%" nowrap align="left"><I>2.</I></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD><I>We note your response to comment number 7. Please confirm that you will include similar
disclosure in future filings.</I></TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<U>Response</U>:
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the Company&#146;s initial response to the Staff, the Company acknowledged that, &#147;&#091;t&#093;o the
extent that there are any material differences in compensation policies among named executive
officers, the Company will disclose such differences in future filings.&#148; The Company then provided
additional explanation regarding certain differences between Mr.&nbsp;Griffith&#146;s compensation results
and the results for the other named executive officers reported in the 2007 Proxy Statement. The
Company supplementally advises the Staff that, to the extent the same or substantially similar
differences in compensation either occurred for 2007 or occur for any subsequent year, the Company
will provide more detailed analysis and explanation of those differences in its future filings
requiring disclosure under Item&nbsp;402 of Regulation&nbsp;S-K, including the 2008 Proxy Statement.
</DIV>

<DIV align="Center" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt"><B>* * *</B>

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In connection with the Company&#146;s responses to the Staff&#146;s comments, the Company acknowledges
that:
</DIV>

<DIV style="margin-top: 6pt">
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="1%" nowrap align="left"><B>&#149;</B></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>the Company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the
filing;</TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="1%" nowrap align="left"><B>&#149;</B></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to Staff comments do not
foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filing; and</TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="1%" nowrap align="left"><B>&#149;</B></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>the Company may not assert Staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated
by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United
States.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If you have any questions regarding these matters, please do not hesitate to contact the
undersigned at (330)&nbsp;471-3002.
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt; margin-left: 50%">Sincerely,

</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt; margin-left: 50%">/s/ William R. Burkhart<BR>
<BR>
William R. Burkhart

</DIV>
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">
</DIV>
<BR clear="all"><BR>


<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt"><!-- Folio -->&nbsp;<!-- /Folio -->
</DIV>
</DIV>
</DIV>



</BODY>
</HTML>
</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>GRAPHIC
<SEQUENCE>2
<FILENAME>l29552al2955290.gif
<DESCRIPTION>GRAPHIC
<TEXT>
begin 644 l29552al2955290.gif
M1TE&.#EADP`T`'<`,2'^&E-O9G1W87)E.B!-:6-R;W-O9G0@3V9F:6-E`"'Y
M!`$`````+`$``0"1`#(`@`````````+_C(^I`.KL#IL4QC"OU+CQF('41RX>
M9UU5I84M>I92^K@R2:MQO>:)#8+=$,!?4;3KT$;(HZ'G7.F.4IZ-V:S-?*PG
MEMB;=DU5,C=L=HW3QM/7JW[#UVWZUJ[TY>7[%/[>!ECGQ@<EQM>G9P>5E'C7
M*+@5^4B9YC07A59GA<=89C6XZ*FHR0F9V"CG:<H(L[,:6OIXV7=(==9J-JL'
M]IK;"QM[BFE+REH8]RDBC!L,C#AI:<Q\ZR>K]2PZ>ORS69QZ#"W<;40MK8P)
ME$1KB#,ZG)T#'E_TGBJ[SINN3X_>],;%'+5J=.3%R.<OG#AZY5Q=L\<-S`(B
MYV2\X\&PET-T_Q`K2B3WQ"/(@:#V^8+GS&0G?,.:(5-XSYHR6JA<MANG<1G.
M0.=(=8PFL!^RF?IL^HSISYY!?BEK#BW(J]ZU/1$'`H36]&=&21AW/JL:#]B@
M;T:3LO0I,ANKM=$29KV8-H\NK[/^(;VB[D]3IT>O-HM;EPW;.:'LPG/T@6D^
M5XE1#OF815KC/PV1Y)S2&,7C&2T(TD0L!#-7T9TU;^[062KE7>Y27[8<6L5I
MU(=Z*KV-.[?NW;Q[^_X-/+CPX<2+&S^./+GRY<R;.W\./;KTZ=2K6[^./3OP
M?>E"\C5N4B7NC>!K$<,@'CGW[UIA;C=/%3W[\EV.IR=.S`,+"]3ESJ[7?1]^
M<A&BGWYCB25?7KF$\$5]#,+"1(3\>>%=>G!0J`2&&?KWX$'\9;!-@A^.2!A?
M)4KH(8'B7=CAA@Z>-R($#O[2(8D<0ECCA?'-B(:,?NCXHDYZX1CCAR<26:"-
M/";9XXE`2JA2?KD=">6-"^;H(HI%UK>CE4;NR&0#2U:A)2%4MJ/EDS6&64:;
E:V*((HQKDIEFE@2BV:*:15K8W9E,>L-1B(%>P><:2<K980$`.S\_
`
end
</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
</SEC-DOCUMENT>
-----END PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----
