March 14 (Bloomberg) -- Dana Holding Corp., the maker of car and truck axles, hasn’t made a profit since emerging from bankruptcy last February. The company hoped to do better selling candelabras, go-karts, and a gold-plated warrior helmet.

Those items were among more than 200 the company put up for auction last night before it moves from its Toledo, Ohio, headquarters with rolling lawns and Georgian, colonial-style buildings to a technical center in nearby Maumee. The goods, many of which were in storage, include mahogany wine cabinets, a scale for weighing gold and a 20-piece Wedgewood China set that sold for $800.

It’s “kind of sad to see this old company have to sell off its assets,” said David Gerety, 54, a shipping and receiving manager for GKN Driveline, which supplies Dana. He came looking to bid as much as $1,500 for a go-kart, which he remembers from charity events in the mid-1990s.

About 175 Dana employees will move out of the old headquarters in September, after which all of the office furniture currently in use will join the auction list, spokesman Chuck Hartlage said. He declined to provide an estimate of the amount the company might raise selling large candlesticks and other furnishings, adding that some of the proceeds will go to Dana’s charitable foundation.

“It’s not about the money,” he said. “It’s about assets that we will no longer have a use for. We’re moving to a fully furnished, modern facility.”

Saving Money

Dana is doing more than moving headquarters to cut costs after reporting $435 million in net losses over the past three quarters. The supplier said Nov. 6 it’s working to close 10 plants by 2010 and shed 5,000 employees.

Dana reports fourth-quarter earnings March 16.

Many investors have bet against the auto industry as Dana and other companies rack up losses amid the worst vehicle sales in decades. General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC are operating with $17.4 billion in government loans, and trade groups representing suppliers have asked for as much as $18.5 billion in federal support.

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc., one of Dana’s competitors as a maker of truck axles, said yesterday its auditors doubt it can remain a viable company due to questions about the survival of GM and Chrysler, which make up 84 percent of the supplier’s sales.

An uncontrolled failure of partsmakers could cause costly damage to the automakers that rely on them for parts, consulting firm Grant Thornton LLP said in a report March 12. About 500 of the largest suppliers are at risk for failure, the firm said.

‘The Palace’

Dana hopes to avoid such a fate with cost-cutting efforts such as selling its headquarters to Health Care REIT Inc.

“I’ve never been to the palace,” said Richard Roznowski, 75, who worked at Dana for 35 years as a precision-gauge grinder, making tools used to produce parts.

Roznowski, whose father and brother also worked for Dana, said his health-care coverage has deteriorated since he left the company.

“When things were good they were having fun with it,” he said. “Now the situation has turned around, due to bad management and whatever else, and now they’re selling these things off.”

The supplier started in 1904, when engineer Clarence Spicer developed a universal joint and driveshaft for cars. He moved the business to Toledo, Ohio, in 1929, and the company took on the name of financier Charles Dana in 1946.

The company moved in 1970 to the Dorr Street headquarters, with about 160,000 square feet of total space, Hartlage said.

In March of 2006, Dana filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after missing a $21 million bond payment.

After Bankruptcy

Dana emerged from bankruptcy Feb. 8 last year with a board that included former managers from GM, Chrysler, Ford Motor Co., and Toyota Motor Corp. The group includes current chairman John Devine, former finance chief at GM and Ford, and Jerome York, who had that position with then-Chrysler Corp.

Since emerging from bankruptcy, Dana hasn’t been profitable as Ford and other customers cut production last year while U.S. auto sales fell to their lowest since 1992.

A room overlooking a golf course was packed last night with people looking to bid on the items. Others milled around the back of the room with a list of the items looking at chairs, sofas, cabinets and dining sets.

A gold-plated helmet was a gift from Togichi City, Japan- based auto supplier Tochigi Fuji Sangyo K.K., according to a list from Pamela Rose Auction Company LLC.

Rose presented a mahogany dining set with 16 chairs.

“Can you imagine the deals done around this table?” she asked the crowd.

Sold. For $4,000.

To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Ortolani in Southfield, Michigan, at aortolani1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 14, 2009 12:01 EDT