The Timken Co. (NYSE:TKR) said on Thursday it would close a plant in St. Thomas, Ontario in one year, which translates to about 190 job losses.

The Canton, Ohio-based company makes everything from power transmission parts and systems to alloy steel and bearing lubrication.

Timken also said Thursday that customer service for its Canadian market will be moved to its offices in Toronto.

The plant, built in 1946 to serve the Canadian automotive market, makes tapered roller bearings for heavy-truck and industrial applications.

Production will be transferred to Timken's operations in Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina sometime in mid-2013.

Timken said changes to its customer base have accelerated recently, which has lowered demand for its products made in St. Thomas.

“With similar capacity available at plants located closer to customers, this is a necessary step to improve our service and competitiveness across North America,” said Timken's director of global manufacturing, Richard Boyer.

Timken said the Ontario plant has been operating at less than 20 percent capacity with reduced hours throughout this year, compounding cost pressures.

The plant is the latest closure in the area, where the local economy has been hard hit by a slowdown in manufacturing.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) shut down an assembly plant in St. Thomas in September 2011, putting 1,200 employees out of work.

Closing the plant will cost between $60 million in $70 million in severance payments to workers, payments into pension funds and site cleanup costs, said Timken.

The company said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the move will “better align Timken’s manufacturing footprint and customer base.”

Shares fell 89 cents, or 1.72 percent, to $50.86 apiece in Thursday afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

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