President Bush, Transportation Secretary Mineta present Baldrige Award to Dana Corporation's Spicer Driveshaft unit
Arlington, Virginia (ots-PRNewswire) -
President George W. Bush and US Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta today presented the 2000 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for manufacturing to Dana Corporation (NYSE: DCN) leaders in a ceremony held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990903/DANA )
The award, which recognises the quality-oriented achievements of Dana's Spicer Driveshaft unit, was first announced in November. Spicer Driveshaft was one of two recipients in the manufacturing category this year and one of only 19 operations to have garnered the honour for manufacturing since it was first awarded in 1988.
Chairman and CEO Joe Magliochetti and Spicer Driveshaft Vice President and General Manager Joe Sober accepted the Baldrige award on the behalf of Dana.
"When the subject is quality, there is no greater honour than the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award," Mr. Magliochetti said. "And there is certainly no greater distinction than to represent the people of Dana Corporation's Spicer Driveshaft unit in accepting this award from the President of the United States.
"It gives me great pride to see our driveshaft group - which represents the very products on which our company was founded - still achieving breakthroughs in innovation, technology, and quality nearly a century after Clarence Spicer developed the first practical application of the universal joint for an automobile," he added. "More than 10,000 patents have been registered by the Dana Corporation since that first product achievement, and yet this extraordinary commitment to quality and customer satisfaction has always remained a very fundamental tenet of our success."
Spicer Driveshaft is the second Dana unit to earn the Baldrige award. In 1996, the company's leasing subsidiary, Dana Commercial Credit Corporation, earned a Baldrige award in the competition's service category.
Often described as "the standard of business excellence," the Baldrige award was established by Congress to promote awareness of performance excellence, recognise quality and business achievements of U.S. companies, and publicise successful business excellence strategies.
Earning the Baldrige award reflects Dana's dedication to quality in all its operations. Since 1992, Dana has used its own Quality Leadership Process, based on Baldrige criteria, to evaluate and improve the performance of Dana divisions in key quality categories. In addition to the Baldrige award, Dana operations globally earned 24 state and national quality awards in 2000, as well as 46 quality certifications from Dana customers.
Spicer Driveshaft is the world's leading independent supplier of cardan driveshafts and related components and systems. It is a global authority in the research and development of advanced driveshaft and power-transfer technology. Spicer Driveshaft employs 3,400 people at 17 facilities in the United States. For more information on Spicer Driveshaft and the Baldrige Award, visit Spicer Driveshaft's Internet site at: www.spicerdriveshaft.com , or call toll free at (866) 494-3258.
Dana Corporation is one of the world's largest suppliers to vehicle manufacturers and their related aftermarkets. Founded in 1904 and based in Toledo, Ohio, the company operates some 300 major facilities in 35 countries and employs more than 75,000 people. The company reported sales of $12.3 billion in 2000. Dana's Internet address is www.dana.com.
Contact:
Gary Corrigan of Dana Corporation, phone +1-419-535-4813,
e-mail: gary.corrigan@dana.com
Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990903/DANA/
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/226839.html or
fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 226839/
Internet: http://www.dana.com and http://www.spicerdriveshaft.com