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Dana Corporation Executive Selected as Baldrige Award Judge TOLEDO, Ohio, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Dana Corporation announced today that Joseph Sober, a vice president and general manager within Dana's Automotive Systems Group, has been selected to serve a three-year term as a judge for the Baldrige National Quality Program. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990903/DANA ) Mr. Sober has been actively involved with the Baldrige program since 1993. He was recommended to serve as a judge by the Baldrige National Quality Program and was approved by United States Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans. Dana has had several representatives chosen as Baldrige examiners; however, Mr. Sober is the first from Dana to be selected as a judge. "I'm greatly honored and humbled to be chosen for such a prestigious appointment," said Mr. Sober. "I'm looking forward to sharing my knowledge with those businesses and organizations involved in the Baldrige program, while at the same time learning from some of the best organizations in the nation." There are a total of nine national Baldrige Award judges. Their roles and responsibilities include: - selecting applicants to advance to the consensus and site visit stages, and recommending award recipients; - participating in the Baldrige examiner selection process; - providing input into the criteria for the award, and assisting with any editing or development deemed necessary; - recommending process changes to the board of overseers; - serving as ambassadors for the program; and - facilitating examiner training. Sober's responsibility as judge will be in addition to his existing duties with Dana, where he is responsible for the company's light-duty Torque and Traction Assembly operations. In 1993, Dana established its own quality program, called the Dana Quality Leadership Process, which is tailored after the Baldrige program guidelines. Through implementation of this quality program, two operations of Dana earned the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award: Dana's former Spicer Driveshaft Division earned the award for manufacturing excellence in 2000 and Dana Commercial Credit Corporation received it for service excellence in 1996. Sober joined Dana in 1978 as an accounting supervisor for the Atlas Drop Forge operation, and has since held a number of leadership positions during his 25 years with the company. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Western Michigan University and an MBA through Dana University. He is also a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a Dana Certified Supervisor, and is actively involved with Hospice of Northwestern Ohio. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is given by the president of the United States to business, service, education, and health care organizations that are judged to be outstanding in seven areas: leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, measurement analysis and knowledge management, human resource focus, process management, and business results. Congress established the award program in 1987 to recognize organizations for their achievements in quality and performance and to raise awareness about the importance of quality and performance excellence. The U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology manages the Baldrige National Quality Program in close cooperation with the private sector. 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 approximately 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 sales of $9.5 billion in 2002. Dana's Internet address is http://www.dana.com/ . http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990903/DANA http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Dana Corporation CONTACT: Jeff Cole of Dana Corporation, +1-419-535-4704, or Web site: http://www.dana.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/226839.html

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