Dana President and CEO Joe Magliochetti said, "Our supplier-rating system has become a tremendous tool to help us team with our suppliers to improve the entire process. It is important to us that we recognize and honor those suppliers that achieve the highest standards of excellence in their support of our business."

The 1999 Dana Diamond Award winner for North America is The Timken Company, a manufacturer of bearings and alloy steels. Other regional winners are French-based Elf Atochem for Europe; Brazil-based Bruning Tecnometal for South America; and Valeo Pyeong Hwa Co, Ltd., of South Korea, for the Asia- Pacific Region.

Schafer Gear Works, Inc., of South Bend, Ind., was recognized in the minority-owned supplier category, and Zeiss, a German-based supplier of measuring machines, was honored in the non-production category.

This is the first year that the Dana Diamond awards have been driven by the balanced scorecard supplier-rating system. The balanced scorecard allows Dana to objectively assess its supply base while rewarding those suppliers that meet its stringent business goals.

The program enables Dana's preferred suppliers to take advantage of one of the company's unique programs -- Dana University – in order to eliminate waste in the value chain. Suppliers may enroll in various classes to enhance their knowledge of proven management techniques, including lean production methods, continuous quality improvement, process management, and value analysis/value engineering.

Founded in 1969, Dana University is an accredited educational initiative that was established to help meet the individual development needs of all Dana people. In recent years, it has grown to three schools: a management school, a technical school, and a customer and industrial school.