ThyssenKrupp Bilstein

BILSTEIN is a German automotive suspension business whose roots date to 1873, when August Bilstein established a company in Altenvoerde, Westphalia. It began with window fittings sold under the AUBI name and later moved into automotive supply. The company’s development from a broader industrial manufacturer into a specialist in vehicle damping and suspension is central to its present identity. Its corporate history is associated with the thyssenkrupp group, and the German Wikipedia account identifies the business as thyssenkrupp Bilstein GmbH, with locations in Ennepetal and Essen. The brand’s core work is the development and manufacture of shock absorbers and suspension systems. BILSTEIN’s corporate website describes products and technologies including monotube and twin-tube shock absorbers, air springs and electronic systems. Its product range serves different driving requirements, from road performance and everyday comfort to motorsport precision, and includes products for original-equipment and replacement applications. The company also presents performance, workshop, off-road, motorsport and camper-related areas on its corporate site, and provides a dealer and specialist network for product advice and service. BILSTEIN presents itself around driving dynamics, engineering development and setting benchmarks in chassis technology. Its products have a long record in automotive original equipment and motorsport, with the supplied history describing early gas-pressure damper production for Mercedes-Benz and later developments in electronically controlled damping and air-suspension modules. Motorsport has served both as a competitive arena and as a setting for testing suspension products. The company reports that it employs more than 4,000 people, operates at sites in six countries and produces about 13 million shock absorbers annually. The supplied German-language company history lists production locations in Germany, the United Kingdom, Romania, Canada, the United States, China and Mexico. BILSTEIN’s corporate site continues to present it as a manufacturer of high-quality shock absorbers and suspension systems, with product information, partner services and career opportunities.

August Bilstein founded the business in 1873 in Altenvoerde, Westphalia. Its initial products were window fittings marketed as AUBI, a name derived from the founder’s initials. The company’s move toward automotive supply began in 1927 through a collaboration with Berlin-based Levator-Hebezeug-Fabrik; Bilstein acquired that firm in 1930, bringing crane production into its activities. The company’s history also includes the use of forced labour during the Second World War and acquisitions in Vienna and Atzgersdorf in 1938 under the process of Aryanization. These are material parts of the historical record and should not be omitted from an account of the company. A decisive technical change came in 1954, when Bilstein began developing a monotube gas-pressure shock absorber based on the De Carbon principle. Series production of gas-pressure dampers for Mercedes-Benz original equipment and other original-equipment applications followed from 1957. The company’s involvement in motorsport is documented from 1962, when Mercedes-Benz first fitted Bilstein gas-pressure shock absorbers to a rally car. Motorsport partnerships and results subsequently became a visible part of the brand’s profile. Corporate ownership changed in 1991 when Hoesch AG acquired the business. After subsequent corporate combinations involving Hoesch, Krupp and Thyssen, the company adopted the ThyssenKrupp Bilstein name. In the early 1990s, electronically controlled and semi-active damping systems entered the market; the crane operation was discontinued in 1992 after Krupp’s acquisition, while the company’s jacking and AUBI window-fitting businesses remained profitable at that time. The late 1990s brought air suspension systems for Mercedes-Benz S-Class vehicles. From 1994 to 1998, the company produced adjustable ACD and ADS dampers. Product development continued with the DampMatic passive, amplitude-selective damping system and DampTronic, an electronically continuously adjustable system developed in cooperation with Porsche; both were presented in 2004. Air-suspension modules for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class W221 entered the product range in 2005, and production of the air-suspension module for the E-Class began in 2002. In 2005, ThyssenKrupp Bilstein and ThyssenKrupp Federn combined as ThyssenKrupp Bilstein Suspension. The springs and stabilizers business was separated into an independent company in October 2011. In 2018, series production of the company’s first active eSuspension systems began. The motorsport record described in the supplied history spans rallying, Formula One, endurance racing, off-road competition and touring-car events. Bilstein-supported vehicles achieved notable results, including a Nürburgring 24 Hours victory for the Phoenix-run Audi R8 LMS Ultra in 2012, and the company fielded a four-way adjustable Modular Damper System in 2016. The history records later rallycross involvement from 2019. Today, the company describes itself as a manufacturer of shock absorbers and suspension systems. Its corporate site says it has more than 4,000 employees, production sites in six countries and annual output of about 13 million shock absorbers.

• 2019

  Rallycross involvement begins

• 2018

  First active eSuspension systems enter series production

• 2016

  Modular Damper System used in competition

• 2012

  Bilstein-equipped Audi wins Nürburgring 24 Hours

• 2011

  Springs and stabilizers business separated

• 2005

  Combination as ThyssenKrupp Bilstein Suspension

• 2004

  DampMatic and DampTronic presented

• 2002

  E-Class air-suspension module production begins

• 1994

  Adjustable ACD and ADS dampers enter series production

• 1992

  Crane production discontinued

• 1991

  Acquired by Hoesch AG

• 1962

  Motorsport involvement begins

• 1957

  Gas-pressure dampers enter series supply

• 1954

  Development of the monotube gas-pressure damper

• 1938

  Acquisitions during Aryanization

• 1930

  Levator-Hebezeug-Fabrik acquired

• 1927

  Move toward automotive supply

• 1873

  August Bilstein establishes the company

An engineering-led suspension and damping specialist serving automotive original-equipment, replacement, performance, off-road and motorsport needs.

• Monotube gas-pressure shock absorbers

  A core BILSTEIN technology developed from the De Carbon principle; series supply for Mercedes-Benz original equipment began in 1957.

• DampMatic

  A passive amplitude-selective damping-force adjustment system presented in 2004.

• DampTronic

  An electronically continuously adjustable damping system developed in cooperation with Porsche and presented in 2004.

• eSuspension

  The company’s first active systems entered series production in 2018.

• Air-suspension modules

  The supplied history records production for the Mercedes-Benz E-Class from 2002 and modules for the S-Class W221 in the product range from 2005.

• 2022

  Lucid details front damper defect in recall

  Lucid’s report to NHTSA described a supplier-provided front damper assembly defect involving inverted snap rings that could cause loss of ride height and damping force. Lucid said 203 Lucid Air vehicles may be involved and that it would inspect parts and replace affected assemblies if the defect was present.

  Source

• Forced labour during the Second World War

• Acquisitions during Aryanization

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• Separate springs and stabilizers businessOther

• 2022.02.23

  Reported2022.02.23

  Lucid details front damper defect in recall[5]Lucid details front damper defect in recallautoevolution.com

  Lucid’s report to NHTSA described a supplier-provided front damper assembly defect involving inverted snap rings that could cause loss of ride height and damping force. Lucid said 203 Lucid Air vehicles may be involved and that it would inspect parts and replace affected assemblies if the defect was present.

Read more

1. 1BILSTEIN Corporate - BILSTEINbilstein.com
2. 2Unternehmen - BILSTEINbilstein.com
3. 3ThyssenKrupp Bilsteinde.wikipedia.org
4. 4ThyssenKrupp Bilsteinwikidata.org
5. 5Lucid details front damper defect in recallautoevolution.com