According to McCormack, the changes make sense for a variety of reasons. “The pending sale of our Engine Management operations and subsequent restructuring of the Under Hood Group, coupled with the departure of Larry Pavey from the Brake side of our business, provided an opportunity to sit down with a clean sheet of paper. The result is an approach that uniquely deploys key resources for a better customer focus.

“We strongly believe that, rather than being organized by product groups as we have in the past, it makes much more business sense to move to a functional division structure, aligning the roles and responsibilities and the skills of our people with the current and emerging needs of the marketplace,” said McCormack.

McCormack went on to detail a plan that he says will make the operations and market interface of the entire Aftermarket Group much more homogenous and customer-centric going forward.

“The cornerstone of the plan is a unique new convergent organizational approach, anchored by an Aftermarket office of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), with John Washbish as President.” In the newly created position of president, Customer Relationship Management, Washbish will have complete responsibility for all customer-facing activities and all aftermarket brands worldwide.

“Our vision is to have the focus of sales, marketing, and operations, converge in total support of each other. Our CRM team will concentrate only on customers, unencumbered by the complexities of manufacturing and logistics. Our operations team will concentrate only on the deliverables as defined by the CRM team. Given the passion and mindset of our people, we think this convergent management system will raise the bar on service and responsiveness.”

McCormack pointed out that this new structure will immediately begin to improve our customer focus with Washbish at the helm. “With John’s vast aftermarket experience and sales expertise, we are certain that we have the right person in the right place.”

On the Under Hood operations side, McCormack has appointed Keith Wilson, currently vice president and general manager of Global Filtration, the added responsibility for Clevite and Beck/Arnley packaging and distribution.

For the Brake and Chassis portion of the business, McCormack will have the strong operations team already in place reporting directly to him. The leaders there are Don Boeckenstedt, friction products; Joe LaVarra, foundry products; Pat Keane, chassis and hydraulics; and Chuck Burns, distribution.

“These people understand their businesses and the compelling importance of full support for the office of CRM. They’re very proud of our outstanding reputation for order fill, accuracy, and cycle time,” said McCormack. “We absolutely have the right personalities and the right concept for today’s aftermarket environment. The skills that Washbish and this outstanding operations team bring to convergence will delight our customers. I expect our already solid performance to improve substantially with this new structure.”

Regarding implementation of the plan, Terry Shively, vice president of marketing for the Aftermarket Group, explained that changes already are underway. “We expect to make several organizational announcements within a couple of weeks. We’re sure our customers are going to appreciate the careful consideration that has gone into this realignment of resources, as they were at the center of our thought process.”

Dana Corporation is a global leader in the design, engineering, and manufacture of value-added products and systems for automotive, commercial, and off-highway vehicle manufacturers and their related aftermarkets. The company employs more than 60,000 people worldwide. Founded in 1904 and based in Toledo, Ohio, Dana operates hundreds of technology, manufacturing, and customer service facilities in 30 countries. The company reported 2002 sales of $9.5 billion.