"The Quest for Excellence award is a great honor," said James W. Griffith, group vice president - bearings - North American automotive, Asia Pacific and Latin America at The Timken Company. "It is a distinction where our customers' recognize our efforts to bring them outstanding value across the spectrum of products and services we offer."

Automotive Industries, with a circulation of 104,000, is published monthly by Cahners Business Information. The magazine's editorial focuses on the domestic and international original equipment vehicle industry.

The awards were a result of the study of 1,800 Automotive Industries readers involved in design, engineering, manufacturing, purchasing and management who rated the suppliers they use on a regular basis. Each participant ranked supplier companies in five areas: quality -- consistently meets or exceeds customer's standards; price -- meets or exceeds the target pricing requirements; innovation -- suggests innovative concepts and solutions; delivery -- provides consistent, dependable delivery of materials, and service -- responds quickly and effectively to customer requests. If a supplier was not mentioned by enough Automotive Industries readers, then they were not eligible for the award regardless of the score attained.

Timken will receive its award at a special recognition dinner hosted by Automotive Industries next month in Dearborn, Michigan.