Schaeffler AG

The cornerstone for the group of companies today was laid by brothers Dr. Wilhelm Schaeffler and Dr.-Ing. E.h. Georg Schaeffler in 1946 with the founding of the limited company. The rise of the company began when Dr. Georg Schaeffler invented the needle cage in 1949, followed by the production of large quantities of cage-guided needle roller bearings by INA for the German automotive industry shortly thereafter.

In 1965, the Schaeffler brothers founded LuK “Lamellen- und Kupplungsbau GmbH” in Bühl, Germany. The company became the market’s technological leader with its very first innovative product, a diaphragm spring clutch. LuK, one of the world’s largest clutch manufacturers and a specialist for drive trains, became part of Schaeffler in 2000.

The FAG brand is inextricably linked with the rolling bearing industry. In Schweinfurt, Germany, in 1883, Friedrich Fischer designed a ball mill that made it possible to use machines for the first time to produce high-precision steel balls in large volumes. This idea is regarded as the historic beginning of the rolling bearing industry. FAG has been a registered trademark since 1905 and, after being taken over by Schaeffler in 2001, is a key element of the Schaeffler Group together with INA and LuK.