OREANDA-NEWS. Dana Incorporated (NYSE: DAN) was recognized with the Superior Award for achievement in Value Analysis from Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMNA) at its Annual Supplier Business Meeting (ABM) on March 20. The company also received awards for Best Localization and Value Analysis from Toyota South Africa, which were presented on March 28.

Dana engineers in North America worked closely with Toyota to optimize the rear propshafts in the Toyota Tacoma, Sequoia, and Tundra vehicles. The team implemented innovative design changes to the product, helping to achieve cost savings and improving the customer experience.

In addition, the Dana team in South Africa was recognized for its Value Analysis work in refining the propshaft and rear axle drivehead for Toyota's IMV platform, while ensuring quality and delivery by optimizing production in the local market.

"Dana was established on the foundation of engineering excellence and continuous improvement," said James Kamsickas, Dana president and CEO. "Our engineers worked closely with Toyota to identify unique improvement opportunities that not only decreased the cost and complexity of the product, but also enhanced the consumer experience through improved durability and reduced maintenance requirements."

Currently celebrating 22 years, the ABM allows TMNA to discuss business objectives with direct and indirect suppliers in preparation for its upcoming fiscal year. Each year, TMNA recognizes suppliers who exceeded the company's expectations in several categories.

"Toyota collaborates with each of our supplier partners in order to build vehicles with the high safety, quality and reliability standards to meet and exceed our customer's expectation," said Robert Young, group vice president, TMNA R&D Purchasing, Supplier Engineering Development, and Cost Planning.  "We are pleased to recognize those in our supply base who exceed our high-performance targets and allow us to build 'ever better vehicles' for our North American customers.  We thank them and their team members for their tremendous support, partnership, and commitment to continuous improvement and collaboration."

Toyota has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 36 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 47,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.).  Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.7 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2017 – and about 87 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 15 years are still on the road today.  

Dana is a world leader in highly engineered solutions for improving the efficiency, performance, and sustainability of powered vehicles and machinery.  Dana supports the passenger vehicle, commercial truck, and off-highway markets, as well as industrial and stationary equipment applications.  Founded in 1904, Dana employs more than 30,000 people in 33 countries on six continents who are committed to delivering long-term value to customers.  Based in Maumee, Ohio, USA, the company reported sales of $7.2 billion in 2017. Dana is ranked among the Drucker Institute's listing of the 250 most effectively managed companies.