I discovered how this family, despite being through the two worst war conflicts in history, managed to create several successful companies.
With determination, originality and a perspective towards the future, The Schaeffler brothers began their journey to business success in April 1946 in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Working hand in hand with his team, they laid the foundation for the Schaeffler Groupwhich has become a global entity thanks to an innovative idea.
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The Schaeffler Group, whose history stands out as one of the most successful in the German industry after 1945, today continues to be a world leader. Dr. Wilhelm Schaeffler and his brother, Dr. Honoris Causa Georg Schaeffler, laid the foundations for what is today the Group by founding Industrie GmbH in Herzogenaurach in 1946.
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They started as a textile company, but then they diversified and changed the way cars were created.
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Georg Schaeffler’s life between world wars
Georg Schaeffler was born in 1917 at Marimont Castle., near Bourdonnay, in the Lorraine region, an area historically disputed between France and Germany. The family had resided there since the 1870s, but after the Imperial Territory of Alsace and Lorraine, which had been German since 1871, became French again following the First World War, they moved to Ottweiler in the Saar Basin. Her father came from Neustadt am Kulm, near Bayreuth, while his mother was from the Rhenish Palatinate. His brother, Wilhelm Schaeffler (1908-1981), was also born in Marimont.
Georg attended the royal high school in Neunkirchen in the Saarland and graduated in 1936. After military service, he began studies in business management at the University of Cologne, but Second World War interrupted his studies. Called into service in 1942, served on the Eastern Front and then the Western Front, reaching the rank of lieutenant. During his convalescence in 1944, he managed to complete his studies. His brother Wilhelm also studied business administration and founded a textile company in Katscher, Silesiain the 1930s.
During the war, They established a subsidiary for the production of weapons in 1942, later began to produce bearings essential for the war industry. In 1945, they fled with part of the production and employees to the American occupation zone, settling in Schwarzenhammer, Upper Franconia. After the war, they founded the Fritsch & Schaeffler Agricultural Machinery Factory.
How Georg Schaeffler made his fortune
In 1946, The company moved to Herzogenaurach, Germany, where they diversified production. From cooperation with Daimler-Benz and Adler, they developed an improved guide cage for needle roller bearings. In 1951, they received a large order from these companies. The company also ventured into manufacturing of cameras.
In the same year, Georg’s brother Wilhelm returned from captivity and reorganized the textile section of the business, establishing the Schwarzenhammer Carpet Weaving Factory. This division became one of the leading carpet manufacturers in Germany.
The metal division experienced continuous growth, employing more than 2,000 people in 1959 and expanding both in Germany and abroad. In 1997, the Schaeffler Group employed almost 20,000 people and by 2007, it had more than 66,000 employees in 180 locations worldwide, with global sales of €8.9 billion.
Georg Schaeffler died in 1996, leaving the company in the hands of his widow, Maria-Elisabeth Schaefflerwho became the owner along with her son Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Schaeffler.
His son Georg Schaeffler’s estate in 2024
The Group’s heir now has a fortune that is around 10.9 billion dollarswhich places him in position 195 of the richest people according to the specialized site Forbes and one of Germany’s top millionaires.
