If we trace back to its origins, ZKL has a close connection to the predecessors of ZF Sachs. In the early 20th century, bearings emerged as high-tech products that flourished alongside the European bicycle industry. In 1895, Ernst Sachs and Karl Fichtel founded Fichtel & Sachs in Schweinfurt, Germany, which is now the predecessor of ZF Sachs. In 1911, Fichtel & Sachs expanded to Perštejn in Czechoslovakia, initially producing bicycle freewheels. By 1921, they also moved their bearing production from Germany to Czechoslovakia. The Perštejn factory in Czechoslovakia served as the predecessor of the later-established ZKL company.
In 1943, the bearing production in Perštejn was transferred to the nearby Klášterec. After World War II, in 1948, the predecessor of ZKL was nationalized. In 1954, ZKL was officially registered as a bearing trademark and became a major supplier of bearings for the former Soviet Union. The separation of Czechoslovakia and the privatization of the bearing industry in the 1990s led to the merger of Czech roller bearing manufacturers in 1999, forming the ZKL Group with its headquarters in Brno.
The ZKL Group has three factories, all located in the Czech Republic. The Brno factory primarily produces spherical roller bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, large-size bearings, and special bearings. The Klášterec factory specializes in ball bearings, tapered roller bearings, and tools. The Hanušovice factory focuses on manufacturing automotive components and bearing parts. ZKL has established sales companies in Germany, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, India, Uruguay, and Australia. In 2013, ZKL entered the Chinese market, primarily serving the steel, mining equipment, and wind power industries. Split bearings are used in the steel and mining equipment sector, while self-aligning and cylindrical roller bearings are used in the wind power industry.
ZKL bearings are primarily used in heavy industries such as wind power, steel, mining, rail locomotives, cement, and agricultural machinery. Particularly in the wind power industry, ZKL produces single-row or double-row self-aligning bearings and cylindrical roller bearings to meet the requirements of direct-drive or geared turbines. These bearings are designed with the "EMH" design approach, which optimizes the internal bearing design, utilizes symmetrical rolling elements, incorporates an integral brass cage, and guides the cage directly on the inner ring to ensure frictionless rolling.
Since 2015, ZKL has successfully provided reliable bearing products to leading global wind turbine manufacturers with a power range of 2-5 megawatts. For example, ZKL has supplied double-row self-aligning roller bearings for the Vestas 3.0 MW wind turbine gearbox. To date, ZKL has manufactured a pair of spherical roller bearings for wind turbines with an output power of 5 megawatts, with diameters reaching 1.28 meters and 1.36 meters respectively, and a total weight of 3 tons.
ZKL's flagship products are split spherical and cylindrical roller bearings, which are special rolling bearings used in heavy industries. They are mainly applied in situations where it is not feasible to mount bearings axially or in cases where bearing installation is time-consuming, such as multi-bearing supports, machine shafts, and long transmission shaft systems. The inner ring of these bearings is separated on a plane with a certain inclination, eliminating rolling impact on the edge of the separation surface and concentrating the linear contact stress into point stress, thereby reducing the risk of bearing failure.
In 2007, ZKL introduced the "New Force" next-generation product series to meet the more demanding application scenarios of bearings, such as temperature, speed, fatigue life, and bearing space limitations. With this enhanced version of bearings, different from standard bearings, ZKL ensures compliance with stringent performance requirements and gains a competitive advantage in the market.
Feature & Application
ZKL bearings are primarily used in heavy industries such as wind power, steel, mining, rail locomotives, cement, and agricultural machinery.
Product Portfolio
