In January 2006, the 420,000-sq.-ft. Dana Corp. frame plant in Hop-kinsville, ICY, took delivery of two huge 2500-ton Jier Mechanical Press Co. (Jinan, China) transfer presses from Jier's U.S. partner Toledo Press Co., Toledo, OH. The Dana plant stamps and assembles full frames for GM trucks and SUVs, and supplies frame stampings for Toyota trucks and SUVs to the Dana Structural Products facility just up the road in Owensboro, KY. Born in 1990 to supply engine cradles to the Saturn plant in Spring Hill, TN, and frames to the GM truck-assembly plant in Shreve-port, LA, Dana Hopkinsville has, over the years, also stamped and assembled front and rear cradles for the Mercedes M-Class SUV, frame components for the Ford F150, and rear suspension cradles for the Saturn LS. Manual line dies still run at the Hopkinsville pressroom, which took in its first servo-mechanical transfer systems in the early 1990s; added a three-axis servo-transfer system in 1995 that has since been retired; and installed two more newer servo-transfer units (gull-Wing systems from Gudel) in 2001, which continue to churn out production on 800- and 1000-ton presses. For its 2006 transfer-system investment, the plant is geared up to produce 67 new stampings from 55 new dies to produce SUV and truck frames. Phase one includes 33 dies and 43 parts for truck frames-cross members, shock towers, upper and lower supports etc.; phase two includes another 22 dies and 25 SUV parts.
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