Schaeffler Group One of Top Ten Most Innovative Companies

The Schaeffler Group, with its main brands INA bearings, FAG bearings and LuK, takes a top position in the 2008 ranking of the most active patent applicants, issued by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office.Schaeffler KG, with its brands INA and FAG, takes eighth place with 605 patents granted and the LuK brand takes 21st place with 221 patents. This means that the INA, FAG and LuK brands altogether take fifth place among the most innovative companies submitting patent applications in Germany. Together with its other brands and companies (such as IDAM, AFT, Barden, F’IS, etc.), the Schaeffler Group handed in more than 1,250 new patent applications last year. This corresponds to an average of over 5 patents per working day.

Some 5,200 employees in 30 development centers worldwide are working on new power transmission solutions for machines and vehicles. In the automotive field, the product range comprises components and systems for engines, transmissions and chassis applications, and the application spectrum in the industrial sector spans from wind turbines and production machinery all the way through to medical equip-ment.