The Sachs brand was established in 1895 by a toolmaker named Ernst Sachs and a merchant and financier named Karl Fichtel.
As a result of this joint effort, the company is often referred to as Fichtel & Sachs to this day. The company initially started off as a precision ball-bearing factory.
In the first year, Sachs hired more than 70 workers and quickly became a well-known brand in Germany. The company got its start by manufacturing ball bearings for bicycles and motorcycles but ultimately transitioned into the automotive parts industry.
Some of the products this company is best known for include shock absorbers and dampers, clutches, clutch kits, dual-mass flywheels, strut mounts, and strut assemblies.
Today, the official name of the brand is ZF Sachs AG, after the company was merged with ZF Friedrichshafen AG in 2011.
The Sachs headquarters remain in Schweinfurt, Germany to this day. The facility in Schweinfurt is the largest location that ZF Friedrichshafen has.
The company experienced many ups and downs for the 126 years it had been in business. There were several instances in which the company could have failed, but it remained popular due to its high-quality products.
In 1929, the main focus of the Sachs brand became the production of clutches, vehicle engines, shocks, and dampers.
The decision to stop selling ball bearings for bicycles and focus on the automotive industry is what ensured this company would survive even the darkest of times.
Even after a majority of the Schweinfurt facility was destroyed in World War II, the company continued to manufacture outstanding products and design new innovative parts.
