Dana, Eaton to dissolve Roadranger partnership

By mid-2012, Dana Holding Corp. and Eaton Corp. plan to terminate their Roadranger joint marketing alliance, with each company expecting to sell, market, and service customers independently of each other going forward from then. However, Eaton plans to continue operating the Roadranger marketing organization, albeit just for its owncustomer base, said Tim Sinden, president of Eaton’s truck operations in North America.

“Eaton intends to continue operating the Roadranger marketing organization as we have in the past – focused exclusively on serving our customers,” said Sinden in a statement. “We will continue to collaborate with our OEM customers, Dana and other powertrain providers on virtually integrated powertrain systems for the North American commercial vehicle marketplace.”

“Going to market independently will afford Dana greater opportunity to communicate with customers directly and to better understand their needs,” said Mark Wallace, president of Dana’s on-highway driveline technologies business, in a statement. “This closer, direct relationship with customers will, in turn, provide the foundation for innovation and technology in Dana’s core axle, driveshaft, wheel end, and tire management systems,” he added.

Both Wallace and Sinden stressed that both Eaton and Dana are “committed to making this a seamless transition” for OEM, dealer and fleet customers alike during the upcoming six-month “transitional period” prior to the alliance actually winding down.

To that end, the companies noted that Eaton will continue to provide field services and support for all Eaton and Dana products through the middle of 2012 under the Roadranger brand. After then, Dana will have the support systems in place to effectively service and support its customers independently.

The move did not surprise many in the industry as both Dana and Eaton – which formed Roadranger well over a decade ago – had started marketing their services independently earlier in 2011 in contrast with how they operate din previous years.

For example, during the 2010 Mid America Trucking show, they jointly announced the addition of new axles to the Roadranger pool of products. But by the spring of this year, Dana and Eaton were clearly marketing their products and services separately from one another.