Recent Years

Contracts
-In 2010, the Company announced that Daimler Trucks North America LLC (DTNA) has selected Donaldson PowerCore G2 air filters for their 2010 Freightliner Coronado heavy duty trucks. The PowerCore G2 filtration technology offers size reduction - 60 percent smaller than conventional cellulose filters and 30 percent smaller than Donaldson PowerCore filters. (From a press release on February 23, 2010)

Awards

-In 2010, the Company was named 2009 Supplier of the Year by Case New Holland (CNH) Global Parts & Service.　(From a press release on April  5, 2010)

R&D Expenditure

(in million USD)

	FY ended July 31, 2010	FY ended July 31, 2009
Overall	44.5	40.6

 

R&D Structure

-Its main global R&D center is in the US.

New Product Development

-In Oct. 2005, the Company introduced the new filter media designed specifically for fuel cell cathode air contamination control applications. Available to OEM's in various filter configurations, the media removes airborne particulate, as current filters do, and also removes airborne chemicals that negatively affect fuel cell performance.

-In Nov. 2004, the Company introduced Donaldson Endurance Plus built-in additive replenishment technology to extend oil and oil-filter life significantly longer than conventional cellulose oil filters. As a direct replacement for existing, standard spin-on filters, Donaldson Endurance Plus is available for most on-road truck engines.

Technological Alliance

-In July 2005, Hollingsworth & Vose (H&V) and the Company jointly announced that they have entered into a global patent license agreement covering the Company's Ultra-Web nanofiber media technology for use in pleated on-road filters. According to the Company, H&V's global access to other filter manufacturers, combined with its patents, will accelerate the market acceptance of nanofiber filtration products. The Company has more than 80 issued and pending U.S. and international patents covering its nanofiber technology.

Investments outside USA

<Brazil>
-In 2008, the Company announced the opening of an engine filtration manufacturing facility in Atibaia City, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The location will primarily produce air filtration products such as air cleaners and air elements. (From a press release on Nov 11, 2008)

<India>
-In Feb. 2007, the Company announced the expansion of its manufacturing facility in India. This expansion will triple the size of the current manufacturing operations for the Company's engine and industrial filtration businesses in India.

<China>
-In Nov. 2006, the Company announced the opening of two additional manufacturing plants in China. This more than doubled manufacturing capacity for the Company's engine and industrial filtration business in China. A technical center was also built to support new product design and development.

-In Mar. 2005, the Company announced that it will set up a production base for diesel engine air filters adjacent to its Wuxi plant for precision instruments filters in the suburbs of Shanghai, China. Production is slated to start in the spring of 2006 to put out one million air filters annually, with a plan to expand the production capacity to two to three million filters in the medium term. Oil filters are also planned to be produced in 2007 or later. The Company intends to take this opportunity to build a complementary production system to exchange components between the new Chinese production base and Japanese one, enhancing its competitiveness in Asia to win new business from Japanese truck manufactures based in China. Under this strategy, the Chinese Company will initially produce air filters themselves, with the rest of the components including cases made of metal or plastics coming from Japan, which will be localized over a period of time, putting an integrated production system on track in China. Further, the Company will transfer to the Chinese base its production and management methods accumulated at its Gunma mother plant in Japan, allowing it to achieve both quality and price competitiveness there.

Investments in USA

-In Aug. 2004, the Company announced that it would add a second production line at its Cresco, Iowa, manufacturing facility to produce its "PowerCore" filtration technology used in automotive, truck and off-road applications. The new line, which will be completed in August, will result in total PowerCore production capacity of an estimated 1.5 million filters per year. To date, the Cresco facility has manufactured the 1.2 million PowerCore filters. Cresco also produces axial seal, radial seal and V-pack air filters. The plant employs approximately 400 workers.