From The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
OTTAWA LAKE, MI -- Dana Corp.'s 320-acre Technical Resource Park for years employed several dozen people and provided two test tracks for engineers to try out new automotive products. But last week, the main gate of the Monroe County, MI, facility was chained shut and the parking lot was virtually empty.
A spokesman for the Toledo automotive parts supplier confirmed that the park has been closed, and said its 70 employees have been moved over the past few months to other facilities in the Toledo area. Chuck Hartlage described the closing as a cost-cutting step.
"We're evaluating options with respect to the future of the site," he said.
Tucked in amid the farm fields, the facility is surrounded by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. County records show no sale of the property, according to personnel there. While the company hasn't used the test track recently, the spokesman left open the possibility that it could be used again if Dana retains the property. The development is among changes taking place at the company as part of court-supervised reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws.
Pamela Dressel, Whiteford Township (MI) supervisor, was surprised to learn of the closing. She was in the process of arranging a meeting with the company on its request for a reduction in the tax value of the property.
Township officials were aware, however, that the facility might be in jeopardy. A company executive had advised them in the spring that it was among 15 facilities being evaluated for possible closing.
At one time, the facility housed a technology school for employees and customers, quality-control functions and technology planning services, according to Dana's website.
In 1997, then-Chief Executive Southwood Morcott described the facility's test tracks as "the focal point of our technical world." Opened in 1969, it initially included just the test tracks: a two-mile concrete oval track and a 3.5-mile course with cobblestones, mud holes and other features meant to mimic off-road conditions.
The park also includes a 112,000-square-foot office building.
Dana, which specializes in axles and driveshafts, produces parts for pickups, sport utility vehicles, tractor-trailers and other vehicles. It is a Fortune 500 company with 2006 sales of $8.5 billion.
The company has other research facilities in Monclova Township and Farmington Hills, MI.
Copyright (c) 2007, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
