ZF is a global leader in driveline and chassis technology as well as active and passive safety technology. The company, which acquired TRW Automotive on May 15, 2015, is now represented at about 230 locations in some 40 countries. ZF is one of the top three automotive suppliers worldwide. For almost 100 years, ZF has been a reliable and competent partner for global vehicle manufacturers worldwide. ZF develops and manufactures products that support the mobility of people and goods. ZF develops the vehicle technology of tomorrow today.
ZF believes that in order to serve customers better, you must be where the customers are. ZF decentralized corporate structure permits a high degree of market and customer proximity. Today, all of ZF’s strategic global divisions are represented in North America, with the technical needs of the market handled by the ZF Technical Center in Northville, Michigan. To better meet the various requirements of the individual markets, ZF is systematically expanding local development activities —ranging from adapting existing products to the local market to developing new products. At ZF’s Technical Center in Northville, more than 100 engineers work on products for the North American market.
ZF has continually grown: from its beginnings as a manufacturer of gear wheels and transmissions for Zeppelin airships to its present form as one of the major international suppliers of driveline and chassis technology. Since its founding in 1915, it has equipped countless vehicles for a variety of customers, first with transmissions and more recently with steering systems, differentials and axles as well. Aston Martin, BMW, Maserati, MAN, Mercedes-Benz – ZF has not only helped write its own history, but that of many automotive manufactures, shaping the development and products of these renowned manufacturers. It has always been ZF engineers driving progress in both serial production and motor sports, with their innovativeness, expertise with high-tech materials and constantly refined manufacturing methods.
They may be old, but they're not ready for the junkyard yet: classic vehicles, from tractors and helicopters to motor yachts and sports cars, excite more than just vintage vehicle fans. With its comprehensive Group Archive and constantly growing Historical Collection, ZF preserves a wealth of technological history. Today, the vehicle collection includes for example a 1940 Magirus fire engine with ZF standard transmission; a 1957 Porsche Diesel Junior tractor with ZF A 4 tractor transmission; a 1967 BMW 2000 C with the first ZF automatic transmission for cars, the 3 HP 12, and ZF worm and roller steering; and a 1973 Alfa Romeo Montreal with a ZF 5-speed manual transmission and self-locking differential.
SACHS, LEMFORDER, BOGE, ZF Lenksysteme and ZF Parts: Five powerful product brands that stand for expertise, quality and service.
The history of the SACHS brand starts in 1894 when the toolmaker and name-giver Ernst Sachs filed his first bicycle wheel hub patent application. One year later, he founded the "Schweinfurter Präzisionskugellager-Werke Fichtel & Sachs" (precision ball bearing production plant) together with Karl Fichtel, a merchant and financier. Then, as today, the stated philosophy was to secure a clear technological edge over competitors, both in terms of product quality and innovation and in terms of customer service.
SACHS products are manufactured from high-quality materials and reflect the state of the art. They stand for high performance and reliability. This is why numerous well-known automotive manufacturers equip their vehicles with SACHS products: Every year, more than 10 million new vehicles equipped with SACHS dampers and shock absorbers roll off the production line. Moreover, SACHS offers high-quality clutches for original equipment manufacturers and the spare-parts market.
SACHS offers products for various fields of application that cover almost all vehicle types. This applies to the European as well as the Asian vehicle market. Today, in Europe alone, the SACHS spare-parts portfolio includes shocks and dampers for more than 38 million Asian vehicles of various manufacturers. This is reassuring for trade partners, workshops, and vehicle owners who can count on SACHS quality for a wide range of models.
With SACHS, ZF is actively involved in professional motorsports. As supplier for various teams, SACHS has already been involved in more than 100 wins and has gained wide experience in motorsports. This experience is used in the development and manufacturing of SACHS products. As a result, each SACHS product contains a good share of motorsports expertise.
Products sold by ZF Services under the SACHS, LEMFÖRDER, BOGE, and ZF Parts brands are spare parts within the meaning of Article 1 Figure (1) h) of Regulation (EU) No. 461/2010 dated May 27, 2010 and meet the criteria of Figures (19) and/or (20) of the supplementary guidelines on vertical restraints in agreements concerning the sale and servicing of automobiles and the sale of automobile replacement parts to the aforementioned regulation.
As one of the worldwide leading suppliers of the automotive industry, ZF Friedrichshafen AG is also committed to motorsports. The ZF Race Engineering subsidiary develops, produces, and distributes ZF core products in the field of driveline and chassis technology particularly for race car applications.
From Formula 1, WRC, and DTM to amateur race series and tuning vehicles, renowned motorsports teams rely on innovative technology and first-class service by ZF. Spectacular sports successes document the technical competence and reliability of ZF products along the lines of: The best for the best.
1914 The Schweinfurt-based Sachs company has its first racing successes - 1st through 3rd place for Mercedes in an "International Grand Prix," driving with Sachs ball bearings.
1937/38 The Mercedes Silver Arrows with aluminum fin shocks and clutches by Sachs win one victory after another.
1992 Erwin Weber and Manfred Hiemer win the European Rally Championship in a Mitsubishi Galant with Sachs clutch and Sachs shocks. For the fourth time in a row, Kenneth Hansen wins the European Rallycross Championship with Sachs technology.
1993 Entry into Formula 1: Mercedes and Sauber use shocks and clutches by Sachs
Ferrari and Michael Schumacher win a total of 8 constructors' championships with ZF Sachs shock absorbers
2004 Scuderia Ferrari gains Driver and Constructor title, Michael Schumacher celebrates his seventh World Champion title. Around the globe, high-performance shock absorbers and clutches from ZF Sachs prove themselves in the tough World Rally Championship, the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, the long-distance races of the American Le Mans Series, and the hard-fought DTM.
Volkswagen uses high tech clutches and shock absorbers from ZF for its start into the Rally Championship and wins the manufacturers' championship as well as the drivers' and co-drivers' championship right away.
2014 ZF becomes "Official Supplier" of the Super-GT in Japan. The GT500 series puts exclusively on a clutch from ZF.
ZF is an innovation-driven company that develops volume production-ready products based on its own research and development efforts and thus invests in the future in a targeted way. This also applies to motorsports.
Whether in driving comfort, safety and reliability, or in procurement and operation: ZF products set standards for driveline and chassis technology. To ensure its continued success through innovative solutions, ZF sets aside around 5 percent of its annual sales for research and development. A story that began in 1915 with simple experiments has today become a global R&D network.
The continual development of new technology is of crucial importance to ZF. Manufacturers expect innovative products to set their vehicles apart from the competition.
Functionalities for better driving dynamics, comfort and safety – as well as fewer individual components and assemblies – are increasingly in demand. ZF research and development meets these challenges with its extensive expertise and clear understanding of the dynamic relationships in the whole vehicle.
To secure its product strategy, ZF has introduced an integrated management process that systematically analyzes and evaluates the market, customer, product, technology and production for all innovations.
Thousands of engineers and technicians work in research and development worldwide. Here divisions and business units focus on market and product expertise to develop cutting-edge products according to customer needs.
Corporate Research and Development (R&D) undertakes basic and theoretical research while supporting the operational development teams in the business units.