Royal Bearing Co. (USA; 5251R9N7) has acquired the entire bearing
      inventory from the shuttered Whirlpool/Maytag Manufacturing facility in
      Newton, Iowa.

      Started in 1994, Royal is an independent bearing reseller based in
      Portland, Oregon. The company also handles large bore bearings and gear
      reducers.

      Appliance maker Maytag was founded in Newton in 1893. At its peak, the
      Newton plant employed more than 4,000 people spread across 55 acres of
      manufacturing floorspace. At one time, most major kitchen appliances
      purchased by U.S. households were produced there in Newton.

      Whirlpool acquired Maytag in 2006 and shut down the Newton plant in 2007,
      delivering what was nearly a knockout punch to the local economy. Today,
      in place of one large employer, Newton has determined to focus on
      attracting many smaller manufacturers -- for example, several wind turbine
      component constructors are now in Newton, including a 90-employee
      manufacturer of turbine towers which occupies a fraction of the old Maytag
      plant.

      Clarence Hopkins, Royal Bearings' President, said: "We are very pleased
      that we were the successful bidder in the Maytag facility purchase.
      Bearing purchases such as this, which contain a broad range of SKF,
      Timken, Fafnir, FAG, Dodge, Linkbelt and McGill bearings, enable Royal to
      continually expand both the depth and range of our inventory."

      Royal points out it is an independent wholesale distributor, not a
      specifically authorized distributor for the bearing brands it acquired at
      Maytag.

      Earlier this year, Royal and SKF had a dust-up where SKF accused Royal of
      selling counterfeit SKF bearings because it is not an authorized
      distributor. However, after inspecting Royal's inventory, SKF agreed that
      the bearings being sold were in fact SKF bearings acquired by Royal in the
      normal course of doing business.

      SKF dropped its allegations and agreed to let Royal continue selling the
      bearings without disruption.

      Mr. Hopkins said the Maytag bearing acquisition is, "very similar to the
      giant purchases we made recently at the former Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio
      and the massive 3.1 million square foot GM plant in Baltimore, Maryland."