Robert Bosch GmbH, commonly known as Bosch, is a German multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Germany. The company was founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart in 1886. Bosch is 94% owned by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, a charitable institution. Although the charity is funded by owning the vast majority of shares, it has no voting rights and is involved in health and social causes unrelated to Bosch's business.
Schweinfurt is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (Landkreis) of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban agglomeration has 100,200 (2018) and the city's catchment area, including the Main-Rhön region and parts of South Thuringia, 759,000 inhabitants.
ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, originally Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen, and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a global technology company that supplies systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and industrial technology. It is headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south-west German state of Baden-Württemberg. Specializing in engineering, it is primarily known for its design, research and development, and manufacturing activities in the automotive industry and is one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world. Its products include driveline and chassis technology for cars and commercial vehicles, along with specialist plant equipment such as construction equipment. It is also involved in the rail, marine, defense and aviation industries, as well as general industrial applications. ZF has 168 production locations in 32 countries with approximately 165,000 (2022) employees.
ZF Sachs AG, also known as Fichtel & Sachs, was founded in Schweinfurt in 1895 and was a well-known German family business. At its last point as an independent company, the company name was Fichtel & Sachs AG.
Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Schaeffler is a German billionaire businessman and owner of 80% of the holding company INA Holding Schaeffler GmbH & Co. KG, which includes Schaeffler AG. His mother, Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler, owns the other 20%. Both inherited their fortune from Schaeffler's father, Georg Schaeffler, who died in 1996. Schaeffler is the head of the supervisory board of Schaeffler Group and a member of the supervisory board of Continental AG. As of May 2023, Schaeffler was ranked by Forbes as the 171st richest person in the world, with a net worth of $10.2 billion.
Continental AG, commonly known as Continental or colloquially as Conti, is a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company that specializes in tires, brake systems vehicle electronics, automotive safety, powertrain, chassis components, tachographs, and other parts for the automotive and transportation industries. Continental is structured into six divisions: Chassis and Safety, Powertrain, Interior, Tires, ContiTech, ADAS. It is headquartered in Hanover, Lower Saxony. Continental is the world's third-largest automotive supplier and the fourth-largest tire manufacturer.
The Renk GmbH is a German global manufacturer of transmissions, engines, hybrid drive systems, vehicle suspension systems, plain bearings, couplings, and testing systems. The company builds special gearboxes for tanks, frigates, icebreakers, and industry and is a leading supplier of running gear and damping systems for tracked and wheeled military vehicles. Renk is headquartered in Augsburg and in addition to its headquarters, also manufactures in Rheine, Hanover, Winterthur, Bath, and Sterling Heights.
Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler is a German businesswoman and one of the owners of Schaeffler Group, one of the world's largest producers of rolling bearings. The other owner is her son Georg F. W. Schaeffler.
The PACE Award is an annual award from Automotive News. The focus of the award is an innovation (i) developed primarily by a supplier, (ii) that is new to the automotive industry, (iii) that is in use, and (iv) that "changes the rules of the game". Awards have been given for products, materials, processes, capital equipment, software and services. A panel of independent judges from industry, finance, research, and academia choose finalists from the initial applicants, make site visits to evaluate the innovation, and then gather to select winners, independent of the sponsors. Winners to date include suppliers from Japan, Korea, China, the US, Canada, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, Poland and other European countries. Among the most awarded companies over the years are BorgWarner, Delphi Automotive, Federal-Mogul, Valeo and PPG Industries as well as Robert Bosch GmbH, Gentex Corporation, and Siemens.
Friedrich Fischer from Schweinfurt, Germany is considered the father of the modern ball bearing, having invented the process for milling standard bearings in 1883.
IAV GmbH Ingenieurgesellschaft Auto und Verkehr,, abbreviated to IAV GmbH, is an engineering company in the automotive industry, designing products for powertrain, electronics and vehicle development. Founded in Berlin in 1983 by Prof. Dr. Hermann Appel as a university-affiliated research institute, the company employs over 8,000 members of staff, and supplies automobile manufacturers and component suppliers. In addition to development centres in Berlin, Chemnitz and Gifhorn, IAV operates at sites in France, United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, China, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and the United States.
As of 13 November 2023, Georg Fischer (GF) has four divisions: GF Piping Systems, GF Uponor, GF Casting Solutions, and GF Machining Solutions. GF offers products and solutions that enable the safe transport of liquids and gases, as well as lightweight casting components and high-precision manufacturing technologies.
Georg Schäfer was a German industrialist and art collector. After his death, most of his art collection was housed in the Museum Georg Schäfer in Schweinfurt.
Barden Corporation is a ball bearing manufacturer based in Danbury, Connecticut, USA with factories in Danbury, Winsted, Connecticut and in Plymouth, England. It previously had factories in Bridgeport, Connecticut and Haverhill, Massachusetts.
Certina Holding AG is a holding company for niche manufacturers, specialised construction and IT companies with its headquarters in Grünwald near Munich in Germany, growing organically and through acquisitions.
NTN Corporation is one of the most prominent manufacturers of bearings in Japan, second domestically only to NSK Ltd. The company is one of the largest exporters worldwide of friction-reducing products such as constant-velocity joints.
Jürgen M. Geissinger is a German technology business executive and Chief Executive Officer of Senvion S.A., a Hamburg based wind turbine manufacturer. Geissinger is best known for his role as the Chief Executive of Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG, a technology conglomerate known for its bearing solutions and precision components for engine and transmission systems for automotive, as well as industrial and aerospace applications. During Geissinger’s tenure as CEO, annual sales have risen more than fivefold. Schaeffler AG, employing over 76,000 people across 180 locations in 50 countries, with annual sales of $14 billion, is also the controlling shareholder of Continental AG with 49.9% of its shares.
Elmar Walter Degenhart is a German manager and was chairman of the Board of Continental AG from August 2009 to November 2020.
Howden Turbo GmbH is a German engineering company, based in Frankenthal in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The company was formed after Colfax Corporation acquired Siemens Turbomachinery Equipment GmbH (STE) from Siemens in October 2017 for €195 million. The old brand name Kühnle, Kopp & Kausch has been returned to use. The Kühnle, Kopp & Kausch AG was a German mechanical engineering company based in Frankenthal. The company was acquired by Siemens and bore the name Siemens Turbomachinery Equipment GmbH (STE) until 2017. The company was renamed Howden Turbo GmbH through the sale to Colfax Corporation and Howden.
Vitesco Technologies Group AG, headquartered in Regensburg, is a German automotive supplier for drivetrain and powertrain technologies. Vitesco Technologies was a business area of Continental AG until it became independent in September 2021. The company develops devices for electric vehicles as well as internal combustion engines.
€25 billion (2023) [1] 
