In Germany, these main brands are marketed by Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG and LuK GmbH & Co. oHG.

[6] In 1883, Friedrich Fischer of Schweinfurt designed a machine to allow steel balls to be ground to an absolutely round state for the first time – and in large volumes.

"[9] In 1939, Certified Public Accountant Wilhelm Schaeffler, an employee of the Dresdner Bank, "acquired" Davistan AG, a Jewish founded textiles company 30 percent below value; the owner, Ernst Frank, had bankrupted in April 1933, because of the boycott and fled Germany.

[10] During World War II, weapons inspectors were urgently looking for further production sites in Upper Silesia, which was barely accessible to Allied bomber units and by June 1943 the Willi Scheffler AG was on a planning list and threatened to close.

[12] In the summer of 1943, Wilhelm Schaeffler founded a limited partnership for the production of armaments and textiles (dropping devices for the air force, fire bombs, needle bearings for tanks, Wehrmacht vests, mattresses and coats).

Around this time Dr. Jacek Lachendro, a historian at the Auschwitz museum stated that after the war 1.95 long tons (1,980 kg) rolls of fabric made from inmates' hair had been found at Schaeffler factories in Kiertz ( formerly Katscher), and had been used in upholstery in its automotive products.

[13] The historian Gregor Schöllgen who investigated the history of the company on behalf of the Schaeffler family claimed in 2009 that there was no evidence for a connection to Auschwitz".

The company was initially only allowed to repair agricultural equipment and produce goods from wood, but soon also became a supplier for tool making.

[22] In 1965, INA acquired the company August Häussermann in Bühl (Baden) and renamed it LuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau GmbH.