NEU--ULM, Germany, March 6 /PRNewswire/ --
The European operations of Dana Corporation (NYSE: DCN) opened for business as usual today, even though their parent company in the United States commenced a chapter 11 reorganization case last Friday, March 3, 2006. Dana Europe is not part of the U.S. chapter 11 case, nor are any of Dana Corporation's operations in Latin America, Mexico, Canada, and Asia Pacific. The U.S. chapter 11 process is not intended to have any effect on these international operations.
"We have the ability to stand on our own, independent of what happens in the U.S.," said Ralf Goettel, President of Dana Europe. "We will continue to act in a coordinated and global way to meet the needs of our customers worldwide. Here in Europe our customers can continue to rely on Dana for quality products -- delivered on time and to exact specification. Our suppliers can expect to continue to be paid on time for all the goods that they have shipped or will ship to us. Nothing has changed."
Prior to the filing of the U.S. chapter 11 case, arrangements were made to provide Dana's international subsidiaries -- including those in Europe -- with uninterrupted access to financing for their day to day operations, as well as access to working capital to enable them to continue to meet their obligations to customers, suppliers, employees, taxing authorities, and all other constituents in a timely manner.
"Almost one third of our business comes from specialty construction, agricultural and other specialty vehicles. Much of the rest comes from working closely with European manufacturers. This is a completely different market quite separate from the problems facing the U.S. automotive supplier industry, Dana's operations in Europe continue to be profitable and financially strong," added Mr. Goettel. "We look forward to even greater success in the future."
Dana people design and manufacture products for every major vehicle producer in the world. Dana is focused on being an essential partner to automotive, commercial, and off-highway vehicle customers, which collectively produce more than 60 million vehicles annually. A leading supplier of drivetrain, chassis, structural, and engine technologies, Dana employs 46,000 people in 28 countries. Based in Toledo, Ohio, the company reported sales of US$9 billion in 2004. Dana's Internet address is http://www.dana.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this release which are not entirely historical constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements represent Dana's expectations based on our current information and assumptions. However, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties and Dana's actual results could differ materially from those that are anticipated or projected due to a number of factors. These factors include the cyclical nature of the vehicular markets we serve, particularly the heavy-duty commercial vehicle market; changes in the competitive environment in our markets due, in part, to outsourcing and consolidation by our customers; changes in national and international economic conditions that affect our markets; potential adverse effects on our operations and business from terrorism or hostilities; the strength of other currencies in the overseas countries in which we do business relative to the U.S. dollar; increases in our commodity costs (including steel, other raw materials, and energy) that we cannot recoup in our product pricing; our success in implementing our cost-savings, lean manufacturing and VA/VE (value added/value engineering) programs; changes in business relationships with our major customers and in the timing, size and continuation of their programs; the ability of our customers to maintain their market positions and achieve their projected sales and production levels; the ability of our suppliers to maintain their projected production levels and furnish critical components for our products, as well as other necessary goods and services; competitive pressures on our sales from other vehicle component suppliers; price reduction pressures from our customers; and other factors set out in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of the date of the release. Dana does not undertake to update such forward-looking statements.
CONTACT:
Chuck Hartlage
Dana Corporation
+1-419-535-4728
Web site: http://www.dana.com
Chuck Hartlage of Dana Corporation, +1-419-535-4728
