Dana Corporation (NYSE: DCN) recognized its top suppliers at its fifth annual Supplier Day held at the company's Technical Resource Park in Ottawa Lake, Mich. More than 100 suppliers from eight countries attended the event. Six suppliers were chosen to receive the inaugural Dana Diamond Award. Dana President and CEO Joe Magliochetti said, "Our supplier- rating system has become a tremendous tool to help us team with our suppliers to improve the entire process. It is important to us that we recognize and honor those suppliers that achieve the highest standards of excellence in their support of our business." The 1999 Dana Diamond Award winner for North America is The Timken Company, a manufacturer of bearings and alloy steels. Other regional winners are French-based Elf Atochem for Europe; Brazil-based Bruning Tecnometal for South America; and Valeo Pyeong Hwa Co, Ltd., of South Korea, for the Asia- Pacific Region. Schafer Gear Works, Inc., of South Bend, Ind., was recognized in the minority-owned supplier category, and Zeiss, a German- based supplier of measuring machines, was honored in the non- production category. This is the first year that the Dana Diamond awards have been driven by the balanced scorecard supplier-rating system. The balanced scorecard allows Dana to objectively assess its supply base while rewarding those suppliers that meet its stringent business goals. "In addition, Dana is taking the next step in supplier integration with the introduction of our new Supplier Development Program," said Doug Grimm, Dana's director of global strategic sourcing. "This is a terrific opportunity for us to enhance supplier relationships and further improve quality, communication, and service excellence to our customers." The program enables Dana's preferred suppliers to take advantage of one of the company's unique programs -- Dana University -- in order to eliminate waste in the value chain. Suppliers may enroll in various classes to enhance their knowledge of proven management techniques, including lean production methods, continuous quality improvement, process management, and value analysis/value engineering. Founded in 1969, Dana University is an accredited educational initiative that was established to help meet the individual development needs of all Dana people. In recent years, it has grown to three schools: a management school, a technical school, and a customer and industrial school. Dana Corporation is one of the world's largest independent suppliers to vehicle manufacturers and their related aftermarkets. Founded in 1904 and based in Toledo, Ohio, the company operates some 330 major facilities in 32 countries and employs more than 86,000 people. The company reported sales of $12.5 billion in 1998. Dana's Internet address is www.dana.com . ots Original Text Service: Dana Corporation Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Gary Corrigan of Dana Corporation, 419-535-4813 Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/226839.html or fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 226839 Web site: http://www.dana.com