The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, Dec. 19, authorized Dana Corp. to sell its trailer axle business to Hendrickson, which will assume control of Dana’s trailer products manufacturing facility in Lugoff, S.C., in January following closing procedures outlined in the asset purchase agreement.
Products will be manufactured in Barrie, Ont., during the first quarter under the terms of a production supply agreement with Dana. Additional customer and vendor communications are expected in early January.
“Hendrickson views the addition of the Dana trailer axle business as an integral part of our long-term strategic plans,” says Gary Gerstenslager, president and chief operating officer of Itasca, Ill.-based Hendrickson. “The acquisition of this business extends our platform for common wheel ends and braking systems across integrated and nonintegrated families of suspension systems.”
Manufacturing of loose trailer axles will be in Lugoff. Initial distribution will be conducted from Lugoff, Brampton and Monterrey, Mexico. “Hendrickson has a strong historical relationship with our customers in Canada,” says Perry Bahr, vice president and general manager of Hendrickson Trailer Suspension Systems. “We recognize the importance of the axle business to our Canadian customers and will address the distribution of the trailer axle products early on in our integration process.”
