FAG Wheel Bearings, Wheel Bearing Kits, Wheel Hub Parts, and More
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From planes, trains, and automobiles to canal locks and ferris wheels, the whole world turns on FAG bearings. FAG is the original manufacturer of the first roller ball bearing and revolutionized transportation with the development of the deep groove ball bearing. FAG bearings are found everywhere, including the Millennium Wheel in London riding on two multi ton FAG spherical roller bearings. No matter who you are or what you do, FAG bearings are a part of your everyday life.
The Story Behind FAG Bearings
FAG bearings began in Schweinfurt, Germany with Friedrich Fischer's invention of the steel ball grinding mill allowing steel balls to be ground to be perfectly round in large volumes in 1883. The demand for these steel ball bearings soared due to demand from Germany's bicycle industry. Soon Friedrich Fischer's ball bearing company was producing five million bearings every week and in 1897 Friedrich Fischer AG (FAG) was founded. Friedrich Fischer’s untimely death in 1899 looked to be the end of FAG bearings and the once thriving bearing manufacturer with no capable successor dwindled from 400 workers to only 150 under constantly changing leadership. However, just after the turn of the century, automobiles began replacing the bicycle for transportation and the demand for high quality ball bearings exploded, allowing more manufacturers to enter the bearing market. In 1909 Georg Schafer & Cie, one of the newly founded bearing manufacturers, was growing and needed a larger space. The owner George Schafer acquired FAG, moving his company to the FAG factory and changing the name Georg Schafer & Cie to FAG to remember the man and company that pioneered ball bearing production. In 1933 FAG began producing bearings for the railway industry to expand commerce throughout Europe and in 1939 FAG established its first factory abroad in Wolverhampton, Britain. World War II took its toll on FAG with 85% of FAG's production facilities destroyed by the end of the war. After the war there was a worldwide bearing shortage and without FAG Europe could not be rebuilt. It took seven years, but with the help of the US military, by 1955 FAG was rebuilt with 8300 employees and new state of the art facilities in Germany and the US. During the economic boom of the 1960s FAG grew, expanding to manufacture bearings for mining equipment, satellites, space travel, robotics, offshore drilling, and wind powered generators. FAG had its shares of ups and downs in the 70s, 80s, and 90s nearly becoming bankrupt. Through innovation, FAG made its way back to the top as the fourth largest producer of bearings worldwide in the year 2000. In 2001 FAG was purchased by INA making them the largest producer of bearings for every industry in the world.
Today FAG is part of the Schaeffler Group along with INA and LUK, making Schaeffler the largest multinational manufacturer of bearings and other machined products. FAG's dedication to quality and innovation has made them the most recognizable manufacturer of bearings across all industries. Nearly every machine, both on the planet and off, is assembled with FAG bearings. FAG continues its strive for excellence with new and innovative roller solutions making the world turn just a little easier.
