The Timken Co.'s plans to close a plant in Canton will have no effect on the Bucyrus facility, a company spokeswoman said.

Lorrie Paul Crum, strategic communications director for Timken, said the decision to close the Gambrinus Bearing Plant was made in 2004, when 1,100 employees were affected.

"This is an organized work force," Paul Crum said. "Their recall rights are here in Canton."

In a prepared statement to the Ohio Department Jobs and Family Services, the company wrote that "since the beginning of this process, we experienced several years of high demand, which slowed the pace of consolidation, and during this time, most of the associates affected were able to retire or transfer into other Timken jobs."

Currently, 57 employees are expected to be out of work because of the closing. Thirty-three are members of the United Steelworkers Association of America, AFL-CIO Local 1123.

Company officials said the global recession in 2009 worsened the situation, prompting further decreased demand for the bearings being made in Canton.

As a result, the Gambrinus plant ceased operations in September 2009.

The laid-off employees could be recalled to work if customer demand increases.

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