Dana Holding Corp. on Tuesday, May 10, broke ground on a technical center in Wuxi, Jiangsu, China. The new center will provide advanced product and applications engineering through research, design, development and testing of off-highway axles, driveshafts and transmissions; commercial vehicle driveshafts; light-duty axles and driveshafts; and sealing and thermal products, including electric vehicle battery coolers. The center is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2011.
“Dana is proud to be breaking ground on its 14th global technical center as we celebrate our 20th year in China,” says Aziz Aghili, Dana’s president of Asia Pacific. “We have already experienced considerable success in China and believe there is great opportunity for future growth here in the off-highway, commercial vehicle and light-vehicle markets.”
The new facility will encompass 130,000 square feet of space and employ nearly 200 people. The center will be adjacent to the Dana Wuxi Technologies Co. Ltd. facility, which was established in 2003 and assembles axles, driveshafts and transmissions for the off-highway market, as well as thermal products.
“This investment in a state-of-the-art test laboratory and production space in China allows us to continue to bring innovative technologies to the global marketplace,” says George Constand, Dana’s chief technical and quality officer. “The center will support our global product development efforts and will enable Dana to continue designing products specifically for customers and consumers in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Dana began manufacturing in China in 1991. Currently, Dana maintains an interest in seven China-based operations, serving the light vehicle, commercial-vehicle and off-highway markets.
