They are partners now: Schaeffler and Factory Berlin, represented here by Gerhard Baum, Chief Digital Officer Schaeffler AG, Florian Flick, Venture Manager Corporate Innovation Schaeffler AG, Professor Tim Hosenfeldt, Senior Vice President Corporate Innovation Schaeffler AG, Niclas Rohrwacher, Chief Relationship Officer & Founder Factory Berlin, Sebastian Müller, Senior Innovation Strategist Factory Berlin (from left to right).

Sharing information with startups, medium-size companies and corporations - this is how Schaeffler is hoping to benefit from a new cooperation: Representatives for Schaeffler and the Factory Berlin startup campus have signed a cooperation agreement for a so called “innovation hub.” It is intended to offer automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler a professional environment and ideal resources for its digitalization and innovation initiatives.
For its partners, Factory Berlin is a platform used for networking and cooperation. Corporations and medium-size companies can come here to get support for the transformation and digitalization of their business models. As a partner, Schaeffler provides its experience from being a global technology company while also benefiting from the expertise of the participating startups.

“Factory Berlin is an ideal place for sharing information with young companies and digital talents across industry borders and shaping the future of mobility together. It is an inspiring environment with a startup spirit where we can continuously drive our digitalization and innovation topics,” Professor Tim Hosenfeldt, Senior Vice President Corporate Innovation at Schaeffler, is pleased to report about the atmosphere and the startup spirit at the Factory.

Schaeffler actively drives digitalization, one of the core focal points of its "Mobility for tomorrow" strategy. One of the focal points is to expand existing business models and to develop new business models. “Digitalization requires the creation of an ecosystem. Through Factory Berlin, we want to cooperate more closely with startups to implement our digital strategy - the ‘Digital Agenda’ - in a target-oriented fashion, quickly and with the right partners,” said Gerhard Baum, Chief Digital Officer of Schaeffler AG. In Schaeffler’s case, the digital ecosystem includes the cooperation of suppliers, partners, customers, universities, research institutions and innovative startups. The focus here is on creating new digital services for customers.

As a startup campus, Factory Berlin brings together startups and well-established technology companies, spread out over 16,000 square meters (3.4 acres) of office space. Online music platform SoundCloud and American mobility platform Uber have offices on the campus. Besides the big names, there are also small companies that work at the Factory.

Udo Schloemer, CEO and founder of Factory Berlin, stresses the importance of Schaeffler as its partner: “At the Factory, we bring together startups, corporations and medium-size companies, and together we shape the digital world. With Schaeffler as our partner, our community will be complemented by a mobility expert that has understood the potential of innovations for corporate success.”

About Factory Berlin
Founded by CEO Udo Schloemer in 2011, Factory Berlin operates Germany’s largest startup campus in Berlin Mitte. Covering more than 16,000 square meters (3.4 acres) of floor space, the Factory brings together global technology companies with startups such as SoundCloud, Uber and Twitter, as well as young talents. The community’s members receive support for partnerships, continuing professional training and cooperation opportunities and have access to Factory Berlin’s office and event space.