Dana Holding Corp. today hosted a symposium to promote innovation and manufacturing excellence in China in support of the country’s “Made in China 2025” initiative. The one-day event was held at the company’s technical and manufacturing campus in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, as part of a celebration of Dana’s 25th anniversary in China.
Featuring representatives from China’s leading vehicle manufacturers, industry associations, research institutions, universities along with government officials, the forum included discussions on ways the industry will play a key role in supporting the “Made in China 2025” action plan announced by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last year.
Participants reviewed key objectives of the “Made in China 2025” initiative that will be addressed by the vehicle industry, as well as the market trends and evolving technologies that impact the achievement of innovation, sustainable development, manufacturing excellence, product quality and human capital.
“The success of the ‘Made in China 2025’ plan depends on a collaborative effort that includes many key stakeholders,” said Antonio Valencia, president of Dana China. “This forum allows us to bring together diverse leaders in the industry to review the relevant provisions of this national initiative, discuss the challenges that we face in achieving goals and demonstrate how we can work together to identify solutions and achieve success together.”
Dana’s presence in China dates to 1991, and today the company operates 10 facilities in China that employ nearly 7,000 people (including operations that are part of a 50-50 joint venture). Dana manufactures axles and propeller shafts for the passenger car, light-duty truck, commercial vehicle and off-highway vehicle markets. In addition, Dana produces sealing and thermal-management products in the country.
Dana has a growing presence in Wuxi, where it first opened a manufacturing facility to produce outdoor power equipment in 2002. Since then, the company has expanded its manufacturing capabilities to include axles for agricultural, mining and construction equipment, as well as industrial driveshafts and powershift transmissions across numerous off-highway markets. In addition to engine and transmission oil coolers, Dana also produces gaskets and heat shields on the campus.
In 2012, Dana launched the Spicer Rui Ma brand of drivetrain solutions for construction equipment and other off-highway vehicles, made in Wuxi.
To better support its customers, Dana inaugurated a 12,000-square-meter (129,000-square-foot) technical center in Wuxi in 2013. The facility provides advanced product and applications engineering for original-equipment manufacturers in the light-vehicle, commercial vehicle and off-highway markets in China and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. This technical center also serves as the company’s global headquarters for designing axles used in mining and other heavy-duty applications.
