Schaeffler

What they do

Schaeffler makes the parts that let things turn: rolling and plain bearings, linear guidance, clutches, chassis components and, since the merger with Vitesco Technologies, electric drive systems and power electronics. It reported revenue of 23.5 billion euros in 2025 and 110,753 employees at the end of the year. The group is organised into four divisions: E-Mobility, Powertrain and Chassis, Vehicle Lifetime Solutions, and Bearings and Industrial Solutions, with humanoid robotics and defence grouped separately as growth areas.

Why it matters

Bearings are among the least glamorous and most universal components in engineering. They sit in every car wheel and gearbox, in wind turbines, rail vehicles, machine tools and aircraft. By absorbing Vitesco, the former Continental powertrain unit, in October 2024, Schaeffler positioned itself to supply electric drivetrains as combustion volumes decline.

The needle bearing was the original breakthrough because it carried high loads in a very small radial space, ideal for gearboxes and universal joints. Lightness and compactness were exactly what post-war vehicle and machine builders needed, and the design spread quickly through the automotive industry.

Products to know

• INA needle roller and linear bearings.
• FAG ball and roller bearings.
• LuK clutches and dual-mass flywheels.
• Electric axles, motors and inverters for electric vehicles.

The German angle

Brothers Wilhelm and Georg Schaeffler moved their company to Herzogenaurach in Franconia in 1946. In 1949 Georg Schaeffler developed the cage-guided needle roller bearing, lighter and faster-running than earlier designs; the patent application followed in 1950. INA stands for Industrie-Nadellager. The group bought FAG Kugelfischer of Schweinfurt in 2001 and made a bold, debt-funded move for Continental in 2008-09. It remains, in its own words, one of the world's largest family-owned companies.

Sources

• Schaeffler via EQS: Schaeffler reports solid results for 2025
• Schaeffler: 70 years of Schaeffler
• Schaeffler via EQS: Trading in common shares begins after Vitesco merger
• electrive: Vitesco takeover by Schaeffler completed