Frequently Asked Questions

What vehicles are LEMFÖRDER Spare Parts available for?
  • You will receive the appropriate LEMFÖRDER steering and chassis parts for almost any vehicle.
How do I recognize an original LEMFÖRDER spare part?
  • One in ten products sold worldwide is counterfeit. What many people do not know is that the installation of plagiarized products, counterfeits, and copies of steering parts and chassis components can be dangerous.

What exactly is product piracy?


  • Product piracy is the illegal imitation, copying, or counterfeiting of products. In doing so, at least one property right (patent, utility model, design) is violated. The manufacturers of piracy products usually have no development or technological expertise for the imitated original product.

How can I identify a counterfeit product?


  • Indicators are prices that are unusual for the market and products being offered via previously unused sales channels. Today, it is unfortunately the case that only specialist professionals are often able to clearly identify counterfeit products.

Which engineering deficiencies most frequently occur on plagiarized products and counterfeits


  • Inferior materials are usually poorly or carelessly processed in piracy products. In terms of steering parts and chassis components, this leads to cracks in the rubber. Oscillations and vibrations are not absorbed; in fact, they reach the vehicle body in an unfiltered manner.

What consequences can be expected if interior spare parts are installed?


  • Inferior products can lead to uneven tire wear, increased wear (also to other components), poor ride comfort, and/or unstable cornering behavior in the steering system and chassis. In the worst-case scenario, the component can break during the trip and, as a result, endanger the lives of the passengers.

What legal risks do piracy products pose?


  • Anybody who puts counterfeit products into circulation is liable to prosecution. Here, it is sufficient if the purchaser has obtained the goods from a dubious source at low prices that are unusual for the market.

What is brand piracy?


  • Brand piracy is where a third-party brand, i.e. a brand not licensed by the product pirates, is used in order to deceive with regard to the true manufacturer. Brand piracy is often linked to product piracy.

What is meant by imitation


  • Imitation is where third parties legally manufacture an existing product without violating industrial property rights such as proprietary rights, utility model rights, or patent protection rights. Automotive suppliers with development expertise from the original equipment sector provide imitations in a targeted manner in order to close product range gaps on the free spare parts market.

What risks do imitation products pose?


  • Manufacturers often advertise that their products boast improved characteristics against the original parts. However, their statement is often only based on a certain feature. In this context, it should be taken into consideration that the respective original product was specially tailored to its operational environment. The improvement of a feature may lead to deterioration of the overall system. For the manufacturers of cheap imitations, the stipulated quality tests in the field of automotive application are usually not profitable. Strength and endurance problems of individual products may not be noticed.
How does LEMFÖRDER belong to ZF Services?
  • LEMFÖRDER is one of ZF’s established product brands. Its outstanding technological competence as an original equipment manufacturer supports ZF Services when it comes to representing the LEMFÖRDER brand in the spare parts market.
What does original equipment manufacturing or OEM quality mean?
  • The products that LEMFÖRDER offers as spare parts in the aftermarket meet the same high quality standards as the original parts manufactured for volume production. This applies equally to design and material as it does to strict quality controls.
What does sustainability mean for LEMFÖRDER?
  • Sustainability is a top priority at ZF and is implemented across the board as a key quality feature, including LEMFÖRDER brand products. After all, sustainable development and production are critical for future viability.
What is the origin of the owl in the LEMFÖRDER logo?
  • The owl can be traced back to the founder of Lemförder Metallwaren Gesellschaft mbH in 1947. His last name “Ulderup” contains the Low German word for owl: "Ule". The owl originally sat in a triangle formed by 3 tie rods.