Schaeffler to be strategic partner of the German Ski Association

2025-09-18 | Herzogenaurach/Planegg

• Strategic technology partnership with the German Ski Association (DSV) to start in September 2025
• Schaeffler to contribute its technology know-how and innovation capability to support top performance in winter sports
• Special focus on innovative coating systems and materials analysis for skis

From September, 2025, the Motion Technology Company Schaeffler will be a technology partner of the German Ski Association (DSV). The goal of the partnership is the joint development of innovative solutions to set new standards in top-level international winter sports. The focus will be on materials development, materials technology, materials analysis, surface modification and novel coating systems for skis in disciplines such as biathlon, cross-country, ski jumping, and alpine.

Schaeffler Chief Technology Officer Uwe Wagner says: “Schaeffler has very extensive technological know-how in motion technology, in both applications and fundamentals. A key element of this is our expertise in materials development and coatings. This deep understanding of friction in the context of different systems will enable us to refine and improve the technology used by elite skiers so that they can lift their performance even further. We are looking forward to our partnership with DSV, and to notching up many winter sports successes together.”

DSV National Coach for Science Karlheinz Waibel adds: “In Schaeffler we have a partner with the expertise and innovation capability needed to meet all our highly specific ski sports requirements. We will work together on further boosting our athletes’ performance through optimized material characteristics and innovative coatings, so as to achieve the best possible results.”

Coatings for top performance in elite sports competitions
A key focus of the partnership will be the development of surface coatings optimized for a diverse range of snow and weather conditions. As a leading surface technology supplier, Schaeffler has a broad portfolio of coatings. The company has the profound expertise in materials analysis needed to investigate complex interactions between environmental conditions and material properties and hence identify new approaches. By fine-tuning tribological properties, it can modify coatings and optimize them for specific uses. This may involve giving the surface special hydrophobic or hydrophilic properties, for example, thereby optimizing ski performance with surfaces that repel or attract water. The Motion Technology Company will also work on developing highly sustainable coatings that are free of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and can be adapted according to the specific requirements of ski sports.

“Technology plays a decisive role in high-performance sport,” says Prof. Dr. Tim Hosenfeldt, Head of Central Technologies at Schaeffler. “By leveraging our technological capabilities – which span the entire value chain from high-resolution material analytics and optimization of tribological systems through to the development of optimal materials-based solutions for winter sports applications – we will be able to realize tangible performance benefits in terms of efficiency and reliability in close cooperation with DSV.”