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                                                                   Exhibit 10(h)

                      APPLIED INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
                           DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN
                         (SEPTEMBER 1, 2003 RESTATEMENT)

         WHEREAS, the Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. Deferred
Compensation Plan which was originally known as the Bearings, Inc. Deferred
Compensation Plan, was established as of July 1, 1993, by Bearings, Inc., which
later became known as Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (the "Company") to
provide key employees of the Company and its affiliates with a means by which to
defer receipt of all or a portion of their incentive compensation received from
the Company; and

         WHEREAS, the Company desires to restate the Plan in order to reflect
certain revisions to Section 303A(8) of the New York Stock Exchange Listed
Company Manual;

         NOW, THEREFORE, effective as of September 1, 2003, the Plan is hereby
amended and restated as hereinafter set forth.


                                    ARTICLE I
                                   DEFINITIONS

      1.1 DEFINITIONS. As used herein, the following words shall have the
meanings hereinafter set forth unless otherwise specifically provided.

                  (1) The term "AFFILIATE" shall mean any member of a controlled
            group of corporations (as determined under Section 414(b) of the
            Code) of which the Company is a member any member of a group of
            trades or business under common control (as determined under Section
            414(c) of the Code) with the Company any member of an affiliated
            service group (as determined under Section 414(m) of the Code) of
            which the Company is a member and any other entity which is required
            to be aggregated with the Company pursuant to the provisions of
            Section 414(o) of the Code.
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                  (2) The term "AWARD" shall mean the aggregate benefit payable
            to a Plan Participant under an Incentive Plan or a Performance Plan
            for a Fiscal Year.

                  (3) The term "BENEFICIARY" shall mean the person or persons
            who, in accordance with the provisions of Article V, is entitled to
            distribution hereunder in the event a Participant dies before his
            interest under the Plan has been distributed to him in full.

                  (4) The term "BOARD" shall mean the Board of Directors of the
            Company.

                  (5) The term "COMMITTEE" shall mean the Executive Organization
            and Compensation Committee of the Board, or such other committee of
            the Board that is designated by the Board to administer the Plan.
            The Committee shall be constituted so as to satisfy any applicable
            legal requirements including the requirements of Rule 16b-3
            promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or any similar
            rule which may subsequently be in effect. The members shall be
            appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Board and any
            vacancy on the Committee shall be filled by the Board.

                  (6) The term "COMMON SHARES" shall mean the common stock of
            the Company.

                  (7) The term "COMPANY" shall mean Applied Industrial
            Technologies, Inc., its corporate successors, and any corporation
            into or with which it is merged or consolidated.

                  (8) The term "COMPREHENSIVE PLAN" shall mean the Applied
            Industrial Technologies, Inc. Comprehensive Deferred Compensation
            and Supplemental Benefit Plan (formerly known as the Bearings, Inc.
            Comprehensive Deferred Compensation and Supplemental Benefit Plan.)

                  (9) The term "DEFERRAL" shall mean that portion of an Award
            which a Participant elects to defer pursuant to the terms of the
            Plan.

                  (10) The term "DEFERRAL ACCOUNT" shall mean the bookkeeping
            account established under the Plan in the name of each Participant
            to reflect the Deferrals of such Participant.

                  (11) The term "ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE" shall mean any highly
            compensated or select management employee of the Company or an
            Affiliate who is designated by the Committee to participate in an
            Incentive Plan with respect to a particular Fiscal Year.
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                  (12) The term "FAIR MARKET VALUE" shall mean the average of
            the high and low prices of a Common Share as reported on the
            composite tape for securities listed on the New York Stock Exchange
            for the date in question, provided that if no sales of Common Shares
            were made on said exchange on that date, the average of the high and
            low prices of a Common Share as reported on said composite tape for
            the nearest preceding day on which sales of Common Shares were made
            on said Exchange.

                  (13) The term "FISCAL YEAR" shall mean the fiscal year of the
            Company, which begins on each July 1 and ends on the subsequent June
            30.

                  (14) The term "FUND" shall mean any investment fund designated
            by the Committee in which Deferrals can be deemed to be invested;
            provided, however, that one such Fund shall be deemed to be invested
            in Common Shares.

                  (15) The term "INCENTIVE PLAN" shall mean any incentive plan
            adopted by the Board for key employees.

                  (16) The term "PARTICIPANT" shall mean an Eligible Employee
            who elects to defer all or any portion of an Award under the Plan
            pursuant to the provision of Article II.

                  (17) The term "PERFORMANCE PLAN" shall mean any long term
            performance plan approved by Company shareholders for key employees.

                  (18) The term "PLAN" shall mean Applied Industrial
            Technologies, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan, as amended and
            restated herein, with all amendments, supplements, and modifications
            hereafter made. The Plan is part of the Comprehensive Plan and
            listed on Exhibit A attached thereto.

                  (19) The term "TRUST" shall mean the trust maintained pursuant
            to the terms of the Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.
            Supplemental Executive Retirement Benefits Trust Agreement.

                  (20) The term "VALUATION DATE" shall mean the last day of each
            Fiscal Year quarter and any other date as may be designated as such
            by the Committee.

      1.2 CONSTRUCTION. Where necessary or appropriate to the meaning herein,
the singular shall be deemed to include the plural and the masculine pronoun to
include the feminine.
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                                   ARTICLE II
                         ELECTIONS BY ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES

      2.1 ELECTION TO DEFER. Prior to the January 1 of a Fiscal Year in which an
Award is payable, an Eligible Employee may elect to defer receipt of all or a
portion of the Award that he may receive under an Incentive Plan or a
Performance Plan as a Deferral under the Plan. Any election under this Section
2.1 shall be made in the form (an "Election Form"), time, and manner specified
by the Committee and acceptable to the Company. In addition, such election shall
indicate the allocation of the Deferral to be deemed invested in the Funds.

      2.2 EFFECTIVENESS OF ELECTIONS. Elections to defer receipt of an Award
shall be effective and irrevocable upon the delivery of an Election Form to the
Committee. Subject to the provisions of Article IV and Section 6.7, amounts
deferred pursuant to any election hereunder shall be invested and distributed in
the manner and at the time set forth in such Election Form.

                                   ARTICLE III
                            ACCOUNTS AND INVESTMENTS

      3.1 ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNTS. The Deferral Account of each Participant
shall have subaccounts, which shall reflect the Funds into which Deferrals are
deemed invested and credited pursuant to the applicable Election Form filed by
the Participant with the Committee.

      3.2 AMOUNT OF DEFERRALS. If a Participant (i) elects to have less than 50%
of any Award from an Incentive Plan deferred under the Plan as a Deferral or
(ii) elects to have any stock portion of an Award from a Performance Plan
deferred under the Plan as a Deferral, 100% of the amount of such Deferral shall
be credited to his Deferral Account and subaccounts in accordance with his duly
filed Election Form. If a Participant (i) elects to have at least 50% of an
Award from an Incentive Plan deferred under the Plan as a Deferral and further
elects to have at least 50% of such Award deemed to be invested in a Fund
comprised of Common Shares, or (ii) elects to have any cash portion of an Award
from a Performance Plan deferred under the Plan as a Deferral and further


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elects to have any portion of such Award deemed to be invested in a Fund
comprised of Common Shares, 110% of the amount of such Deferral deemed so
invested in Common Shares shall be credited to his Deferral Account and
subaccounts in accordance with the terms of his duly filed Election Form. In the
event any Deferral or portion thereof is deemed to be invested in a Fund, such
crediting shall be made within 30 days after the date on which the Deferral
would otherwise have been payable to the Participant under the applicable
Incentive Plan or Performance Plan and Common Shares of a Fund so credited to a
Deferral Account shall be valued at Fair Market Value.

      3.3 ADJUSTMENT OF ACCOUNTS. As of each Valuation Date, the value of each
Deferral Account shall be adjusted to reflect deemed earnings, losses and
dividends determined by the Committee. Common Shares of a Fund credited to any
Deferral Account shall be valued at Fair Market Value.

                                   ARTICLE IV
                            DISTRIBUTION OF ACCOUNTS

      4.1 METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION. The value of a Participant's Deferral Account
deemed invested in a fund comprised of Common Shares shall be distributed in
Common Shares and the value of a Participant's Deferral Account deemed otherwise
invested shall be distributed in cash. Such value shall be determined as of the
most recent Valuation Date. Subject to the provisions of Section 4.2, a
distribution from a Participant's Deferral Account shall be made either in a
lump sum or in equal annual installments over a period of not more than ten
years as specified in such Participant's Election Form.

      4.2 TIME OF PAYMENTS. Except as otherwise provided in this Section 4.2 or
Section 4.3, distribution of the value of a Deferral from a Participant's
Deferral Account shall commence on the date specified in his applicable Election
Form. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan to the contrary, a
Participant may elect to change the manner and the time of the distribution of
the value of any Deferral no later than 30 days prior to his termination of his
employment or, if earlier, the date he had previously elected to receive
distribution of such Deferral; provided, however, that if


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the employment of such Participant is terminated with less than 30 days notice,
such Participant may elect to change the manner and time of distribution of the
value of any Deferral during the period which commences as of the day he
receives notice of his termination and ends ten days thereafter. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, except in the case of the termination of his employment, in no
event may a Participant change the time and manner of the distribution of a
Deferral which has been previously changed in the immediately preceding
three-year period.

      4.3 HARDSHIP DISTRIBUTION. Prior to the time the Deferral Account of a
Participant becomes payable under Section 4.2, the Committee, in its sole
discretion, may elect to distribute all or a portion of the a Participant's
Deferral Account on account of severe financial hardship of the Participant. For
purposes of the Plan, severe financial hardship shall be deemed to exist in the
event the Committee determines that the Participant requires a distribution to
meet immediate and heavy financial needs resulting from a sudden or unexpected
illness or accident of the Participant or a member of his or her family, loss of
the Participant's property due to casualty, or other similar extraordinary and
unforeseeable circumstances arising as a result of events beyond the control of
the Participant. A distribution based on financial hardship shall not exceed the
amount required to meet the immediate financial need created by the hardship and
the income taxes resulting from such distribution.

      4.4 DISTRIBUTIONS UPON DEATH. Upon the death of a Participant, the balance
of his or her Deferral Account shall be paid to his Beneficiary in a form and
manner approved by the Committee.

      4.5 TAXES. In the event any taxes are required by law to be withheld or
paid from any payments made pursuant to the Plan, the Committee shall cause such
amounts from such payments and shall transmit the withheld amounts to the
appropriate taxing authority.


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                                    ARTICLE V
                                  BENEFICIARIES

      In the event a Participant dies before his interest under the Plan in his
or her Deferral Account has been distributed in full, any remaining interest
shall be distributed pursuant to Article IV to his Beneficiary, who shall be the
person designated as such in writing by the Participant in the form and manner
specified by the Company. In the event a Participant does not designate a
Beneficiary or his designated Beneficiary does not survive him, his Beneficiary
shall be his estate.

                                   ARTICLE VI
                                  MISCELLANEOUS

      6.1 AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION OF THE PLAN. The Company reserves the right
to amend or terminate the Plan at any time; provided, however, that no amendment
or termination shall affect the rights of Participants to amounts previously
credited to their Deferral Accounts pursuant to Section 3.2; and provided
further, that, effective on and after October 21, 2003, the provisions of
Section 3.2 providing for the crediting of 110% of a Deferral deemed invested in
a Fund comprised of Common Shares shall continue in effect until the earlier of
(i) the tenth anniversary of the date as of which the Plan was last approved by
the holders of a majority of the Common Shares then outstanding, or, if later,
the date as of which the limited transition period under Section 303A(8) of the
New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual would end unless otherwise
permitted to continue under said Section; or (ii) the date as of which the Plan
is terminated by the Company.

      6.2 NON-ALIENATION. No benefit under the Plan shall at any time be subject
in any manner to alienation or encumbrance. If any Participant or Beneficiary
shall attempt to, or shall, alienate or in any way encumber his rights or
benefits under the Plan, or any part thereof, or if by reason of his bankruptcy
or other event happening at any time any such benefits would otherwise be
received by anyone else or would not be enjoyed by him, his interest in all such
benefits shall


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automatically terminate and the same shall be held or applied to or for the
benefit of such person, his spouse, children, or other dependents as the
Committee may select.

      6.3 PAYMENT OF BENEFITS TO OTHERS. If any Participant or Beneficiary to
whom a benefit is payable under the Plan is unable to care for his affairs
because of illness or accident, any payment due (unless prior claim therefor
shall have been made by a duly qualified guardian or other legal representative)
may be paid to the spouse, parent, brother, sister, adult child, or any other
individual deemed by the Company to be maintaining or responsible for the
maintenance of such person. Any payment made in accordance with the provisions
of this Section 5.3 shall be a complete discharge of any liability of the Plan
with respect to the benefit so paid.

      6.4 PLAN NON-CONTRACTUAL. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as a
commitment or agreement on the part of any person employed by the Company to
continue his employment with the Company, and nothing herein contained shall be
construed as a commitment on the part of the Company to continue the employment
or the annual rate of compensation of any such person for any period, and all
Participants shall remain subject to discharge to the same extent as if the Plan
had never been established.

      6.5 TAXABILITY OF PLAN BENEFITS. This Plan is intended to be treated as an
unfunded deferred compensation plan under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended. It is the intention of the Company that the amounts deferred pursuant
to the Plan shall not be included in the gross income of the Participants or
their Beneficiaries until such time as the deferred amounts are distributed from
the Plan. If, at any time, it is determined that amounts deferred pursuant to
the Plan are currently taxable to a Participant or his Beneficiary, the amounts
credited to such Participant's Deferral Account which become so taxable shall be
distributed immediately to him; provided, however, that in no event shall
amounts so payable under the Plan to a Participant exceed the value of his
Deferral Account.

      6.6 FUNDING. The Company may cause Plan benefits to be paid from the Trust
which is a grantor trust that provides full funding of the Plan benefits in the
event of a potential change in control or change in control. Subject to the
provisions of the Trust, the obligation of the Company


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under the Plan to provide a Participant or Beneficiary with a benefit
constitutes the unsecured promise of the Company to make payments as provided
herein, and no person shall have any interest in, or a lien or prior claim upon,
any property of the Company.

      6.7 SECTION 16B PROCEDURES. In conjunction with rules promulgated by the
Securities and Exchange Commission under Section 16 of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended, the Company has established Section 16b Procedures
which affect certain transactions under the Plan involving Employer Securities
held for the benefit of an Officer. Such Procedures, which are hereby
incorporated into the Plan shall constitute for all purposes a part of the Plan.
In the event that the Procedures conflict with any other provision of the Plan,
the Procedures shall override such other provision and shall be controlling. For
purposes of this Section, the following terms shall have the meaning hereinafter
set forth.

            (a)   The term "Employer Security" shall mean any qualifying
                  employer security as defined in Section 407(d)(5) of ERISA
                  which is also an equity security as defined under the
                  Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

            (b)   The term "Officer" shall mean any person who is designated as
                  an "Officer" of the Company for purposes of Section 16 of the
                  Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

            (c)   The term "Section 16b Procedures" or "Procedures" shall mean
                  the Administrative Procedures Applicable to Officers and
                  Directors Under Employee Benefit Plans Maintained by Applied
                  Industrial Technologies, Inc., effective as of January 1,
                  1997, with all amendments and thereafter made.

      6.8 SEVERABILITY. The invalidity or unenforceability of any particular
provision of the Plan shall not affect any other provision hereof, and the Plan
shall be construed in all respects as if such invalid or unenforceable provision
were omitted herefrom.


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      6.9 GOVERNING LAW. The provisions of the Plan shall be governed and
construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Ohio.

      Executed at Cleveland, Ohio, this 26th day of August, 2003.


                                    APPLIED INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.


                                    By:   /s/ D. L. Pugh
                                       ----------------------------------------
                                       Title: Chairman & Chief Executive Officer