Great River Energy Cuts Bearing Maintenance Costs with Timken’s Bundled Replacement Program

Steve Richter, the Boiler Core Leader at Great River Energy’s Coal Creek Station in North Dakota, was tasked with cutting costs for replacing tapered journal bearings in the plant’s pulverizers while ensuring reliability.

Previously, he sourced bearings from multiple vendors, purchasing new and refurbished units. To streamline maintenance and reduce expenses, Richter partnered with Timken’s market manager Todd Thorsen and Motion Industries’ Bismarck branch to devise a three‑year bearing replacement strategy. The plan bundles three services—tapered roller bearing supply, repair, and cost‑effective new part pricing—into a single, streamlined resource for Coal Creek.

"We developed a bundled bearing replacement program where Motion Industries would deliver a steady supply of new and used bearings," says Thorsen. "Our goal was to save Coal Creek Station money, maintain performance and avoid production delays."

Richter was particularly impressed by Timken’s transparent repair criteria and clear cost breakdown for each repair tier.

The plant keeps a mix of new and refurbished bearings on site, while relying on Timken for inspections and repairs. Each used bearing is evaluated to identify the required repairs. Depending on the condition, bearings are either serviced on‑site or shipped to a Timken Industrial Services location—like the South Bend, Indiana facility—for overhaul.

Repair costs fall under one of these three categories:

• Type 1 – Polish cup, cone and rollers. Preserve, package and ship to customer.
• Type 2 (minor) – Grind cup and polish cone, rollers and all other surfaces. Adjust stack height as required. Preserve, package and ship to customer.
• Type 2 (major) – Grind cup and cone raceways. Replace rollers, cage pins and rings and polish all other surfaces. Adjust stack height as required. Preserve, package and ship to customer.

After refurbishment, the bearings are shipped back to Coal Creek for reuse. When a bearing cannot be reconditioned, it is replaced with a new Timken tapered bearing. Timken’s technicians are also on standby to assist with on‑site maintenance if required.

Another advantage of Timken’s repair service is its willingness to work on bearings from any manufacturer.

Richter added, "I was pleased to discover that Timken Industrial Services can repair bearings of any brand," noting that consolidating all repair work to a single provider simplified his responsibilities.

Headquartered in Elk River, Minnesota, Great River Energy is the state's second‑largest electric utility by generating capacity and ranks fifth nationwide among generation and transmission cooperatives in terms of assets. The cooperative supplies wholesale power to 28 local cooperatives, which in turn serve over 600,000 homes, businesses and farms across Minnesota and neighboring states.

For more information on Timken products and services, visit www.timken.com.