Dana Corporation Earns Fifth IndustryWeek 10 Best Plants Award; Owensboro, Ky., Structures Facility Receives 2003 Honor

TOLEDO, Ohio, Sept. 17 -- Dana Corporation announced today that its Owensboro, Ky., structures facility has been honored as one of IndustryWeek magazine's 10 Best North American manufacturing facilities. This is the fifth time a Dana facility has earned this prestigious award, which focuses on excellence in manufacturing.

"We are honored to be recognized for the outstanding achievements of our people in Owensboro, whose hard work earned this award," said Bill Carroll, president of Dana's Automotive Systems Group. "They have set the standards high as one of the industry's leading automotive-supply facilities."

Dana's Owensboro facility provides full-perimeter frames for all of Toyota's Sequoia and Tundra truck models produced in the United States.

What makes the facility unique is its limited amount of inventory and direct link to Toyota's production plant in Princeton, Ind. The facility's just-in-time production process allows it to keep only a limited inventory on hand. It also has almost zero change-over time between models, needing only three seconds to switch between platforms.

"This award belongs to the entire Owensboro team. Their dedication to continuous productivity and quality improvement is a great accomplishment for both Dana and our customers," said Owensboro Plant Manager Kevin Ohneck.

Out of nearly 300 nominees, the Owensboro facility was selected based on the submission of a detailed questionnaire focusing on facility performance in several areas, including quality, customer and supplier relations, the application of new technologies, and productivity. With the aid of a team of outside industry experts, 25 plants were chosen as finalists for the award. The winners were selected after an extensive review process, including site visits to each finalist facility.

The other Dana facilities that have earned the IndustryWeek 10 Best Plants honor include:

   -- Stockton, Calif., structures facility, 2002.
   -- Hopkinsville, Ky., structures facility, 1998.
   -- Bristol, Va., driveshaft facility, 1996.
   -- Minneapolis, Minn., hydraulics facility, 1990.

The approximately 120,000-square-foot Owensboro facility began production in January 1999 and employs 320 people.