Dana Corporation Intends To Sell English Forging Facility

TOLEDO, Ohio (PROTEXT) - Dana Corporation (NYSE: DCN) todayannounced that it intends to sell its Kirkstall, Leeds, England,forging operations. The 660,000-square-feet facility produces forgings for axlecomponents and the oil and petro-chemical industries. It alsomanufactures axles for on- and off-highway applications. Thefacility employs approximately 450 people. Dana plans to retain the engineering and salesresponsibilities for finished drive and front-steer axlesmanufactured at the facility. Nick Cole, president of Dana's Off-Highway Systems Group,said, "This decision was not easy and does not reflect on thepeople at Kirkstall or on the future business opportunities forthat operation. Forging is simply not a core Dana technology. Webelieve this operation will be more competitive as part of acompany that considers forging central to its business." Cole said the proposed sale is consistent with Dana'spreviously announced Five-Point Plan for continued growth andincreased profitability, and it comes in response to expressionsof interest from potential buyers. "This is another clear example of Dana's strategy to divestoperations that are either non-strategic or under-performing --which is one of the tactics of our Five-Point Plan," said JoeMagliochetti, Dana president and CEO. Southwood J. Morcott, Dana chairman, said, "This year, we havesaid we plan to sell operations with annual sales of about $850million. As these divestitures conclude, they will provideadditional cash flow to further implement our Five-Point Plan." Dana unveiled its Five-Point Plan in April. A tactical link tothe company's overall strategic plan, the plan provides elementsfor continued growth and increased profitability. The plan includes the following five tactics: * Grow while focusing on returns and maintaining financialdiscipline; * Seek strategic, bolt-on acquisitions at reasonablevaluations; * Divest non-strategic and non-performing operations; * Repurchase stock as the company generates cash; and * Complete integration efforts and realize synergy savings. Dana has retained the investment-banking firm of CIBC WorldMarkets to assist in the transaction. Dana Corporation is one of the world's largest independentsuppliers to vehicle manufacturers and their relatedaftermarkets. Founded in 1904 and based in Toledo, Ohio, thecompany operates some 330 major facilities in 32 countries andemploys 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, 419-535-4813 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 Web site: http://www.dana.com

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