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1945 – today
Founded (the plant): In 1945 the Spicer/Dana company began building a massive Fort Wayne plant for its Salisbury Axle division; the plant was built in 1946 — equipment installed that year was still in service in the 2020s. The parent company traced to Clarence W. Spicer's 1904 universal-joint patents; Charles A. Dana took control in 1914, and the corporation was renamed Dana Corporation in 1946.
What it did: Axles and gears — in 1983 the plant, with 1,281 hourly employees over three shifts, produced axles and gears for light trucks and recreational vehicles. The plant's own credit union, chartered in 1946 as the Salisbury Axle Federal Credit Union, survives as Fort Financial Credit Union.
Course and fate: The plant grew to almost one million square feet, making gear sets and axle components predominantly for light-vehicle markets, and remains in operation under Dana Incorporated (headquarters Maumee, Ohio) — one of the longest-lived of Fort Wayne's automotive plants.
Sources:
- NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Report 83-107-1574 (1985) — the Fort Wayne plant's products and 1983 employment (1,281 hourly).
- eMaint/Navigate case study, "CMMS Drives Maintenance Efficiency for Dana, Inc." — the plant built 1946; almost 1 million sq ft; gear sets and axle components.
- Fort Financial Credit Union history (via Glassdoor) — chartered 1946 as Salisbury Axle FCU; renamed for Dana in 1977.