For decades, the Schaeffler Group’s INA brand has stood for creative application solutions, great engineering and manufacturing expertise and strong customer focus. The traditional FAG brand that is over 100 years old is one of the world’s leading brands for applications in machine building, in the automotive industry as well as in aviation and aerospace. In addition to the automotive industry, INA and FAG products are supplied to a further 60 sectors.

The successful development of INA and FAG began with two ingenious ideas:

Dr. Georg Schaeffler, who had founded INA in 1946 together with his brother Wilhelm in Herzogenaurach, developed the needle roller and cage assembly in 1949. A pioneering innovation that helped the needle roller bearing achieve an industrial breakthrough as a particularly energy-efficient and reliable precision component. Georg Schaeffler's inventive spirit and his will to succeed have become a permanent part of corporate culture.

INA has unique know-how in manufacturing precision products using forming methods. This enables the manufacture of precision products in large quantities and with an excellent cost-benefit ratio. INA has also used its know-how and experience for the development and manufacture of further products and has acquired a leading position as a manufacturer of engine components.

In 1883, Friedrich Fischer designed a ball grinding machine in Schweinfurt and started the FAG success story with the manufacture of steel balls that was then possible on an industrial scale. This invention is regarded as the foundation for the entire rolling bearing industry. FAG is present in all the major industrialized countries with numerous companies, subsidiaries and agencies. FAG has been part of the Schaeffler Group since 2001 and supplies products for the aerospace, automotive and industrial sectors.

With INA and FAG, the Schaeffler Group has one of the widest product portfolios in the rolling bearing industry, covering nearly all applications. The joint catalog of standard products includes more than 40,000 products which are supplied to 60 different sectors. INA and FAG also offer a comprehensive range of services for advice, diagnostics, maintenance and mounting rolling bearings and complete systems. In Germany, the brands INA and FAG are marketed by Schaeffler Technologies GmbH & Co. KG, the largest national company in the Schaeffler Group.

As a forward-looking company, the Schaeffler Group has invested significant amounts in research and development, most recently in new R&D centers in Asia and North America. 4,800 of the 61,000 Schaeffler Group employees worldwide (status 2009) work on the development of new products and technologies. Approximately 1,100 inventions are registered as patents every year. With its brands INA, FAG and LuK, the Schaeffler Group is present at 180 locations in 50 countries worldwide. Additional success factors are the highest quality, employee orientation, exemplary environmental protection and sustained, long-term and targeted development of the company.