DANA DRIVING INDUSTRY IN CAPE

These steel ring and pinion gear sets, made at the Dana Corp., were ready for shipment.

The Cape Girardeau Chamber started recognizing existing industries eight years ago with its Industry of the Year award. Industries honored over the past nine years are General Sign, Lone Star Industries, Procter & Gamble, Biokyowa, Concord Publishing Co., Dana Corp., Florsheim Shoe Co., Spartech Corp. and Thorngate Ltd. From time to time, the Missourian reviews one of the previous winners. This week, Dana Corp.

America's fondness for the casual has propelled the Spicer Axle Division of Dana Corp. to new heights of success.

An increase in demand for sport utility vehicles and continued popularity for the small, medium and larger pickup trucks has increased the need for front and rear-drive axles.

Four years ago, seven Spicer Axle Division plants produced 1.4 million axles. Last year, the company produced more than 2.4 million.

Cape Girardeau's Dana Corp. Spicer Axle Division facility is sharing in the success.

Dana's Cape Girardeau facility is a big player for the front and rear-drive axles, said Dave Blanchard, manager of the local plant.

When Dana opened the doors to a $23 million, 140,000-square-foot facility on Southern Expressway early in 1990, it was with 60 workers, with potential to eventually employ about 200.

The company has reached and surpassed that goal.

Dana today employs 360 workers on a four-shift basis.

"This is due largely to the increase in demand for sport vehicles and pickup trucks," said Blanchard.

Dana Corp. is a leading worldwide supplier of original equipment components for the vehicular, industrial and mobile off-highway markets and their related markets.

And the local company manufactures axle carriers and cases along with gears and steering knuckles for light-duty trucks and all-wheel drive vehicles.

"We machine the parts here, and they are sent to Columbia for assembly," said Blanchard. "We're also shipping parts now to assembly plants in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Buena Vista, Va.

Although no further growth in the sport vehicle and pickup truck are expected for 1997 and 1998, no declines are expected either, said Blanchard, who recently returned from Dana's annual business plan meeting.

"The next two years could be good here," he said.

Cape Girardeau and Columbia facilities were sites of a fact-finding mission by a number of Spicer Axle Division officials about a year ago.

Sixty company officials, representing 11 countries, visited the operations of the two Missouri plants.

"This was a fact-sharing mission," said Blanchard. "People were here from India, Asia, South America, Canada, Europe and Mexico on a field trip."

Blanchard joined the local plant as manager in 1991.

"When I came here in 1990, the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's Industry of the Year banquet was the first function I attended," he said. "It impressed me then and it still impresses me."

Three years later, Dana and Blanchard were on the receiving end for the Industry of the Year's giant Commitment to Excellence trophy.

Since then, the local Dana facility has joined and helped organize the SEMO Training Group.

"This is a program long needed here," said Blanchard. "When I first arrived here, one of the things missing was maintenance skills training. Such a program just wasn't here.

"What we found, and what a number of other industries have found, is that we had to grow our own program," said Blanchard. "Two of our people were instrumental in helping to bring such a program to fruition."

He was speaking of Pat Hagan and Larry Koehler.

Hagan is now director of the 2-year-old SEMO Training Group, which consists of 11 industrial and business groups in the immediate area.

The regional group is a consortium of 11 manufacturing and industrial employers, representing a pool of more than 4,000 trainees that have been, or are in the process of being, trained for their positions.

Member companies include Dana, Procter & Gamble Paper Products, Lone Star Industries, M&W Packaging and Lee-Rowan Co. Other members in the group include K&K Electric, Gregory Construction, Golden Cat, Biokyowa, SEMO Carpenters Union and Foamex.

Dana, headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is a part of a national operation that impacts not only Cape Girardeau but the entire region, nation and many parts of the world.

Dana, which incorporated in 1905, operates facilities in 27 countries and employs more than 36,000 people. Its sales top the $5 billion mark annually.

Dana representatives first came to Cape Girardeau in June 1988. They spent a lot of time in the area through January 1989, talking with area employers and Chamber of Commerce members. The company settled on a 15-acre tract in 630 Corporation's Industrial Park along Southern Expressway.

In mid-January 1989, Dana officials announced a $23 million, 140,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Cape Girardeau.

Today, the firm is listed among the top 25 industries in the Southeast Missouri area, with more than 350 employees.

Nationally, Dana started out as Spicer Manufacturing when Clarence Spicer patented the first practical automotive universal joint and drive shaft.

Charles A. Dana -- lawyer, politician and businessman -- assumed the reins of the company in 1914 to give it needed financial guidance.

In 1946, the company was renamed Dana Corp.

Through more than 80 years, Dana has developed a lineup of products and services worldwide. These include drive train systems, engine parts, chassis products, industrial power transmission products, fluid power systems, parts distribution and service and financial services.

Today, Dana's worldwide sales come from five key markets and total about $4 billion. The profits have remained strong, and the company has paid more than 195 dividends to the 40,000-plus Dana shareholders.

The company is the 105th largest industrial corporation in the United States and one of the 250 largest in the world. More than 45,000 people work in 700 facilities representing 27 different countries.

The Dana organization contains four operation groups -- North America, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Each has its own president and operating committee.

Worldwide activities include: 400 facilities in North America, with 150 manufacturing centers and 95 warehouses; 22 manufacturing facilities and 15 warehouses in South America; 39 manufacturing facilities and 168 distribution sites in 10 European countries; and seven manufacturing and seven distribution facilities in seven countries in the Asia-Pacific area.

Dana continues to post record sales and profits. The most recent financial report, last week, showed third-quarter sales of $1.82 billion, which represents a 5 percent increase from the $1.73 billion third quarter of 1995. Net income increased 7 percent to $65.2 million, up from $60 million a year ago. Earnings per share were 64 cents, up from 60 cents during the third period of 1995.

U.S. sales were up 3 percent, but international sales increased 10 percent.

Dana's nine-month consolidate sales were $5.8 billion, up 3 percent from the same period last year. Income for the first three quarter was $235.4 million, up 13 percent from the $209.2 million during the same nine months of 1995.

Dana has recorded 236 consecutive dividends without a decrease, dating back to 1936, said Southwood J. Morcott, chairman and chief executive officer.