1981

12,000 employees work for the INA Group worldwide.
Wilhelm Schaeffler passes away at the age of 73.

1984

Investment in Helmut ELGES GmbH in Steinhagen. Maintenance-free spherical plain bearings and rod ends are added to the product range.

1986

Automatic belt tensioning systems: Belt tensioners in passenger cars last longer and become much quieter.
Approximately 14,000 employees by the mid-80s.

1987

INA receives Chrysler Motors’ “Q Excellence Award“ for meeting this customer’s high requirements for quality and delivery reliability.

1988

Ready-to-install ball type and roller type profiled rail units with high load capacity for machine tools.

1990

“Think tank”. R&D center in Herzogenaurach opens up new possibilities for product and application development.

1990

Hydraulic variable cam timers made by INA allow continuous valve adjustment for the first time. Fuel consumption and emissions are reduced.
INA has approximately more than 20,000 employees worldwide.

1991

“INA Quality. Made in Slovakia.” This is the motto for the start of production in Skalica, INA’s first plant in Eastern Europe.

1992

INA’s new plant in Ansan (Korea) – a milestone in entering Asia, a region experiencing fast growth.

1993

Strong and fast: LSL cylindrical roller bearings with machined disk cage.
INA’s Corrotect® anti-corrosive plating is patented.

1993

Patent granted for new series: DKLFA bearings for ball screw supports for electromechanical drives with locating-locating bearing supports.

1994

An “economic miracle”: KUVE four-row ball type profiled rail unit with large number of variants and accessories conquers the market.

1995

INA’s executive management declares environmental protection one of the company’s goals.

1995

INA Bearings China Co. Ltd. is founded in Taicang (engine components and needle roller bearings for the Chinese market).

1996

Georg Schaeffler passes away at the age of 79. Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler and her son Georg F.W. Schaeffler continue his life’s work.

1996

WPB in Momo (Italy) – Joint venture on the development and production of water pump bearings (fully owned by INA in 1999).

1996

INA is the company with the largest number of apprentices in Northern Bavaria. A new apprentice training center for 300 apprentices opens.

1997

BEARINX® is developed – allowing exact bearing calculations down to individual rolling bearing contacts for the first time.
All of INA’s plants worldwide are certified to QS-9000 and VDA 6.1.

1998

Rotary table bearings with YRTM integrated measuring system – one of the first mechatronics products.

1998

Dr. Jürgen M. Geißinger is appointed President and CEO of INA.

1999

INA takes over LuK GmbH and expands its expertise as a system supplier to the automotive industry.

2000

Increased performance – reduced consumption: Use of variable cam timers in vane type design and switching tappets for cam profile switching in Porsche’s Variocam model.

2000

Majority interest in REGE Motorenteile GmbH & Co.KG (precision machining and assembly of cylinder heads).

2000

Compact XV/XSU crossed roller bearings predrilled for flange mounting eliminate time-consuming machining of the mounting structure.

2000

A pioneering role in environmental protection: All of INA’s plants worldwide are certified to ISO 14001 and validated to EMAS. INA receives the Ford environmental protection award.
The INA-Group has approx. 25,000 employees worldwide.