DOD details supply chain strengthening agreement

The Department of Defense (DOD) has outlined a $13.8 million agreement with a Keene, N.H., firm, noting the pact would strengthen the supply chain.

The partnership with the Timken Company (Timken) would increase production of high-precision ball bearings in accordance with the DOD’s Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy (OASD(IBP)) through its Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization (MCEIP) Directorate.

Timken’s high precision ball-bearings are used in defense and space-related advanced systems.

The funds, appropriated to the DPA Fund by the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act (Ukraine Supplemental), will be used to make operational and technological improvements at the company’s facility that include upgrading equipment and operator training.

“The Office of Industrial Base Policy is moving forward with speed to support sectors of importance to American national security and deterrence,” Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy Laura Taylor-Kale said. “The Timken Company manufactures components critical to the health of critical domestic supply chains as identified by President Biden.”

Timken is also investing $11 million to further expand capabilities at its facility. Congress identified capacity for high-precision ball bearings for defense and space-related advanced systems as a Defense Industrial Base (DIB) Area of Interest in the Ukraine Supplemental, enacted in May 2022.

The supply of ball bearings is a constraint in increasing demand for advanced systems.