Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • European Rubber Journal
  • Plastics News
web
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • ITEC
    • Automotive
    • Tire
    • Non-Tire
    • Suppliers
    • Silicone
    • Latex
    • Coronavirus
    • Executive Action
    • Government/Legal
    • Opinion
    • Technical Notebooks
    • International Elastomer Show
    • Women in Tire & Rubber
    • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Goodyear recognized by Lockheed Martin as 'elite supplier'
      EV tire advancements to help secure future
      Lambillotte: Only question on AVs is timing
      CAR official says EV future brighter than autonomous
    • Goodyear-branded transmission belts set to return
      Hot topics at virtual CES: AVs, air taxis and drones
      Apollo to raise prices of Vredestein brand tires
      China's tire production up in 2020
    • Greenergy, Haldor Topsoe tech turns tires to fuel
      India decides against extending carbon black duties
      GRI expanding ag tire capacity at 3-year-old Sri Lanka plant
      Apollo to raise prices of Vredestein brand tires
    • NewAge Industries celebrates 15 years of employee ownership
      India decides against extending carbon black duties
      WCCO task force navigates pandemic, expands communications
      JobsOhio funding gives Sperry & Rice room to grow
    • Safic-Alcan and Arkema working together on distribution deal
      India decides against extending carbon black duties
      Biesterfeld to supply Denka acrylate rubbers
      Ace Products & Consulting partners with Wallace Instruments
    • Ace Products & Consulting partners with Wallace Instruments
      Safic-Alcan extends distribution agreement with Momentive
      Momentive aims to grow silicone presence in Asia-Pacific region
      IRP Medical solidifies portfolio with KDL deal
    • WCCO task force navigates pandemic, expands communications
      ASTM cancels April meetings as COVID-19 continues impact
      Paycheck Protection Program funding reopens Jan. 15
      Detroit Auto Show canceled; alternative event being planned for September
    • ARP Materials adds technical sales manager
      Jack Murphy joins Akron Dispersions
      Adriano Alfani named Versalis CEO
      Maroon Group adds to Southeast sales team
    • India decides against extending carbon black duties
      Hot topics at virtual CES: AVs, air taxis and drones
      Paycheck Protection Program funding reopens Jan. 15
      Taiwan tire makers propose settlement of import duties case
    • Column: Pandemic looms over everything in life, business in 2020
      Column: Lessons from the 2020 Best Places to Work
      Editorial: Silicone hit hard by pandemic, expected to bounce back
      Column: Still far way from normal
    • Effects of multiple repurposed materials for reinforcements of standard rubber compounds
      Impact of peroxide blends on the cure rate and aged properties in HNBR
      Techniques to detect long chain branching in polymers
      A comparative study looking at effects of curing kinetics and batch variation on SBR injection molding and numerical analytics
    • Rubber Division seeks abstracts for 200th Technical Meeting
      WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
      IEC keynote: Communication key to logistics
      IEC speaker: Specialized elastomers may reduce spread of life-threatening pathogens
    • WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
      New video celebrates women in rubber industry
      ITEC panelists say women can thrive in tire industry
      Rubber Division planning second Women of Rubber event
    • Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Faster Access to Your Polymer Compounding Experts Around the World
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Take a walk thru a HEXPOL Lab
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      HEXPOL offers a unique selection of High Performance Elastomers to match your application requirements
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      It’s what you can’t see that makes the Difference at HEXPOL
  • Blogs
    • Products
    • Wacky World of Rubber
    • New Products: MonTech introduces 1,500 kN lab press
      New products: 3M introduces new durable, pliable medical adhesive
      New Products: Lanxess launches energy-efficient PU elastomer
      New Products: MonTech automates bale cutter for safety, productivity
    • Wacky World of Rubber: How Trelleborg, teens sealed a spot in the world record book
      Wacky World of Rubber: Of chicken and feet, but not chicken feet
      Wacky World of Rubber: Time to go mattress shopping
      Wacky World of Rubber: Because nothing says football like 'frunk' shrimp
  • Newsletters
    • Rubber in Automotive
    • Silicone News
    • Latex News
    • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Goodyear-branded transmission belts set to return
      Hot topics at virtual CES: AVs, air taxis and drones
      Apollo to raise prices of Vredestein brand tires
      China's tire production up in 2020
    • Ace Products & Consulting partners with Wallace Instruments
      Safic-Alcan extends distribution agreement with Momentive
      Momentive aims to grow silicone presence in Asia-Pacific region
      IRP Medical solidifies portfolio with KDL deal
    • Jack Murphy joins Akron Dispersions
      Synthomer optimistic, raises earnings forecast
      Top Glove reopens COVID-hit factories with enhanced precautions
      Malaysia electronics group to enter rubber gloves sector
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Directory
  • Resources
    • Classifieds & Mold Mart
    • Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Sponsored By HB Chemical
      The Company Behind the Inventory
      Sponsored By French Oil Mill Machinery
      Process Improvement, Cost Reduction with Custom Press Systems
    • Sponsored By Uncountable Inc.
      Cooper Standard deploys lab informatics platform to synchronize R&D
      Sponsored By Elkem
      LSR Select™: A solution to improve your financial impact in molding applications
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Peroxide Cureable Silicone Injection Molding
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Understanding and Selecting Performance Additives for Rubber Compounding
  • Data
  • Events
    • RPN Events
    • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
    • Industry Events
    • Past Events
    • ITEC Library
    • International Silicone Conference Library
    • 2021 Healthcare Elastomers Virtual Edition
      2021 Rubber in Automotive Virtual Edition
      2020 International Silicone Conference Virtual Edition
      2020 ITEC Virtual Edition
  • Advertise
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
October 16, 2018 02:00 AM

Old Dana taps the fountain of youth

Larry P. Vallequette
Automotive News
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Dana's deal with TM4 gives the supplier a stake in a joint venture in China.

    MAUMEE, Ohio—With little fanfare this year, one of the global auto industry's oldest suppliers began repositioning itself for a business of the future.

    Dana Inc. has made two key acquisitions in the past four months. The 114-year-old manufacturer agreed to acquire controlling interest in the Canadian company TM4 and signed a deal to buy the Drive Systems business of Swiss engineering and tech company Oerlikon Group.

    The acquisitions are intended to fortify Dana's expanding electric driveline portfolio. The $605 million Oerlikon acquisition alone will bring Dana about $800 million in additional annual revenue, along with five research and development centers, 12 plants and controlling interest in a Chinese joint venture.

    Dana also came within a whisker of buying Britain's GKN this year but was outbid in the final hours by Melrose Industries in a hostile takeover.

    Dana's transactions come on top of four other strategic acquisitions over the past three years.

    What's going on at the suburban Toledo, Ohio, maker of axles, driveshafts and sealing products?

    The goal, says Dana CEO James Kamsickas, is to keep an old-school supplier firmly planted on the breaking wave of developing technologies.

    "If you look at our five completed deals—six if you include the Oerlikon deal—they've all been a little bit bigger each time, and they're all tied into a specific strategic intent all along the way," Kamsickas told Automotive News. "Others think of us as a kind of Rust Belt, heavy metals, stamping, forging company, but we're the furthest thing from that these days."

    "It's really a high-tech company," Kamsickas said.

    E-drive systems

    With the acquisition of a majority interest in TM4—formerly wholly owned by the Canadian utility Hydro-Quebec—Dana gained a leading supplier of electric motors, power inverters and controls with a joint venture in Weifang, China.

    The deal, announced June 22, enables Dana to deliver complete e-drive system capabilities to manufacturers in all of Dana's traditional segments—light vehicle, off highway and commercial. It also broadened Dana's footprint in China and positioned the company for growth in China, which is moving heavily to electrified vehicles.

    Meanwhile, the purchase of Oerlikon's Drive Systems business, announced July 30, boosted Dana's portfolio in e-drives and transmissions, along with advanced gearing, planetary drives and other shifting products across Dana's traditional portfolio.

    Failed bid

    Also this year, Dana had been positioned as a white knight in the battle to acquire GKN, which was fighting off a hostile takeover bid from Melrose. In public, Dana appeared to step in at the last minute to scoop up one of its primary rivals in the light-vehicle all-wheel-drive segment, but Kamsickas said he and his team had seen the early warning signs that GKN was vulnerable, and had been working on a potential deal before Melrose showed up.

    Dana CEO James Kamsickas

    Kamsickas recalled that, for Dana, "GKN became a very strong, opportunistic act because it had great industrial logic, and our stock price was at a record high. Those are two very big variables when you're going to do an acquisition."

    As it began pursuing GKN, Kamsickas said, Dana had the freedom to study the prospects fully. "So we said, 'Let's deploy. Let's live in the U.K. for a couple of months, and let's see if we can pull this thing off.'?"

    But Melrose stepped in and ultimately outbid Dana with an $11.2 billion offer.

    "The thing that I'm very proud of," he said, "is that I learned that you don't overpay for a deal. We could have gotten the deal, if you're all about overpaying and have deal fever. But that doesn't do anything but drive your company out of business."

    Core products

    As for Dana's core product portfolio, including the axles that are rolling the Jeep Wrangler to record global sales, business has never been stronger. Dana spent much of the past year developing and marketing its aftermarket product line for light vehicles, as well as expanding its traditional products into new vehicles. The coming Ford Ranger and Bronco, for example, will ride on Dana axles.

    "At the end of the day, our core business is still going to be axles, driveshafts, all-wheel-drive products because the internal combustion engine is not going away anytime soon," Kamsickas said. "When you look at our portfolio, we are almost all truck and SUV and everything up from there."

    Dana isn't tied completely to light-vehicle sales—roughly 43 percent of its $7.21 billion in 2017 sales were in commercial vehicles or off-highway, such as heavy mining equipment and front-end loaders. Kamsickas said the company is well positioned to weather a downturn in light-vehicle sales.

    "It's a competitive advantage for us that we are significantly end-market agnostic," Kamsickas said. And technology it has developed for larger vehicles gives Dana an advantage in the light-vehicle segments, he said. The drivelines for large underground mining equipment have been electrified for decades, he noted.

    "We try to stay very core. No matter what we're doing, everything still backs up to the gear," Kamsickas said of vehicles and Dana's products. "At the end of the day, we're going to convey power."

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Rubber & Plastics News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].

    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Rubber & Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe Today

    Subscribe to Rubber & Plastics News to get the best coverage and leading insights in the industry.

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    MISSION

    To serve companies in the global rubber product industry by delivering news, industry insights, opinions and technical information.

    web
    Contact Us

    2291 Riverfront Pkwy, Suite 1000
    Cuyahoga Falls,
    OH 44221

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1726

    Resources
    • About Us
    • Digital Edition
    • Contact the Staff
    • Advertise
    • Order Reprints
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Partner Sites
    • Tire Business
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Automotive News
    • Crain Brands
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • ITEC
      • Automotive
      • Tire
      • Non-Tire
      • Suppliers
      • Silicone
      • Latex
      • Coronavirus
      • Executive Action
      • Government/Legal
      • Opinion
      • Technical Notebooks
      • International Elastomer Show
      • Women in Tire & Rubber
      • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Blogs
      • Products
      • Wacky World of Rubber
    • Newsletters
      • Rubber in Automotive
      • Silicone News
      • Latex News
      • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Photo Galleries
    • Directory
    • Resources
      • Classifieds & Mold Mart
      • Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
    • Data
    • Events
      • RPN Events
      • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
      • Industry Events
      • Past Events
      • ITEC Library
      • International Silicone Conference Library
    • Advertise
    • DIGITAL EDITION