Explore the latest technology trends, career opportunities, and the people behind Schunk’s pioneering solutions

Carbon brushes – also known as sliding contacts – play a key role in transferring electric current between rotating and stationary components. They’re an essential part of electric motors and generators, ensuring continuous electrical connection even at high speeds. From power tools to wind turbines, carbon brushes are everywhere. At Schunk, we develop advanced, application-specific carbon brush solutions based on decades of material expertise and in-depth industry know-how.

At Pier 400 in the Port of Los Angeles, one of the world’s busiest container terminals, a new high-performance charging system is now in daily use. In collaboration with Kalmar and APM Terminals, Schunk Transit Systems has implemented two Inverted Pantographs SLS201.401 to support the first fully electric straddle carriers in North America. The system enables automated, high-current charging (up to 1,200A)—ideal for demanding port environments with tight schedules and continuous operation. 

Methane pyrolysis is a promising technology for climate-friendly hydrogen production. However, the extreme conditions inside the reactor place enormous demands on materials and components. In this interview, Felix Schmidt explains how Schunk contributes to making this future technology industrially viable—with advanced materials, coating technologies, and engineering expertise.

At Schunk, leadership skills are not just a skill, but the key to a successful future - both for our employees and for our company. This is precisely where the Schunk Corporate Advanced Management Programme - CAMP for short - comes in: an exclusive further training programme for Schunk colleagues who want to take on management responsibility or specifically develop their leadership skills.

Discovering young talents, fostering them, and actively opening doors to professional life – this is the goal of the Ludwig Schunk Foundation. Through programs like the Deutschlandstipendium and the Ludwig Schunk Awards, it guides students on their journey from university to a successful career entry.

Parasitic shaft currents are among the most common causes of bearing damage in electric drive systems. Inadequate grounding can lead to costly failures – in rail transport, industrial production facilities, and electric mobility alike. The Schunk Group addresses this challenge with a comprehensive portfolio of grounding systems, ranging from traditional grounding contacts to innovative carbon-based solutions.

The semiconductor industry places the highest demands on materials and manufacturing processes. Fused quartz is a key material in this context – it is temperature-resistant, chemically inert, and ultra-pure. This is where SemiMat comes in: the company specializes in the precision manufacturing and repair of quartz components and supplies leading semiconductor manufacturers worldwide. With decades of experience and state-of-the-art cleanroom production, SemiMat offers, among other things, high-precision epitaxy quartz components used in critical semiconductor processes.

The Schunk Group is your innovative partner when it comes to metal injection molding (MIM) at the highest technological level. With over 100 years of material expertise and state-of-the-art MIM technology, we manufacture complex, precise, and series-ready metal components – tailored exactly to the requirements of your industry.

Electric vehicles are rapidly gaining momentum, increasing the demand for reliable and efficient technologies. Power modules play a pivotal role in this context, particularly in motor drives and battery charging systems. Dr. Jürgen Reinke, Head of Process Technology at Schunk Sonosystems, and Dr. Urs Bürgi, an expert in automation and precision at Infotech, explain the importance of these technologies and highlight innovations developed in collaboration with Infotech.

With the RDX1000 LWJ from Pulsar Photonics – a company of the Schunk Group – new benchmarks are being set in the processing of hard and brittle high-performance materials. This innovative system combines laser and waterjet technologies, enabling highly precise cuts in technical ceramics, silicon carbide, and hard metals – faster, more efficiently, and without causing material damage. 

With OptoSight, OptoTech, a company of the Schunk Group, launches a groundbreaking AI-driven software that makes optical manufacturing machines smarter, more efficient, and user-friendly. With this innovation, OptoTech sets new standards in the optical industry. 

With the acquisition of ESK-SIC, the Schunk Group has set a strategic milestone and further strengthened its position in the field of high-performance ceramics and specialty materials. But what does this mean for customers and the technical ceramics industry? We take a look at the background, the synergies and the innovations made possible by this partnership. 

Electric buses are no longer a future scenario - they are increasingly defining the image of modern cities. For the transition to more sustainable and quieter local transport to succeed, not only are powerful vehicles needed, but also intelligent and efficient charging infrastructures. This is precisely where Schunk Smart Charging comes in: with innovative, fully automatic charging systems that maximise the availability of electric buses - without any manual operation or plugs.

For transport companies, winter not only brings frosty temperatures, but also a problem that causes costs and effort: icy overhead lines. A challenge that Dessauer Verkehrs GmbH also had to contend with. Holger Steuer, Head of Maintenance, explains how the company got to grips with the problem in a straightforward manner. The result: reliable tramway operation despite ice and snow.

We know from experience: Developers of high-performance motors for electric cars face an enormous challenge. Tomorrow's e-mobility requires efficient motors for higher drive dynamics and longer ranges. But how can the performance of electric motors be increased in what is sometimes the smallest installation space? Higher speeds are a key to success, but mean extreme stress for the components. Without a stable rotor bandage, machine failure would be inevitable. Read here why armor sleeves made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) are the way to efficient high-performance motors.

The arguments that electric vehicles are still too expensive, take too long to charge, have too short a range or always require a cable to be held for charging still deter many customers from buying an electric car. Similarly, the demands for more environmentally friendly mobility in the industrial sector also present companies with challenges. For example, for electric mobility to become an economically viable alternative for logistics companies, solutions are needed that not only ensure fast, reliable charging and long ranges, but can also be integrated into the depot in a space-saving way. Fortunately, the development of charging systems for electric vehicles is progressing rapidly. The range now includes not only manually operated charging systems, but also autonomous solutions.

Read on to find out which charging systems offer the most potential for which types of vehicles and how an underbody charging solution enables efficient and space-saving charging of passenger cars and e-trucks.