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Company profile

Kübler

Fritz Kübler GmbH, trading as the Kübler Group, is a family-owned German maker of encoders, linear measuring systems, slip rings and counters. It was founded in 1960 by Fritz Kübler and is headquartered at Schubertstraße 47, 78054 Villingen-Schwenningen (+49 7720 3903-0).

Kübler at a glance
Legal nameFritz Kübler GmbH
Founded1960
FounderFritz Kübler
Owner / parentKübler Group (family-owned)
Headquarters78054 Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany
Employeesmore than 600 (as stated on the company page, 2026)
Websitekuebler.com/en

Kübler contact details

Head office

Schubertstraße 47
78054 Villingen-Schwenningen
Germany

Telephone +49 7720 3903-0

Email info@kuebler.com

Website kuebler.com/en

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Contact details as published by Fritz Kübler GmbH (Kübler Group, family-owned), checked 2026-10-30. Specify Motion is not affiliated with Fritz Kübler GmbH (Kübler Group, family-owned).

Kübler product lines

Sendix absolute encodersSingle-turn and multi-turn optical absolute encoders with fieldbus and Industrial Ethernet interfaces
Sendix incremental encodersOptical incremental encoders in shaft and hollow-shaft versions
Bearingless encodersMagnetic ring and kit encoders without their own bearings
Motor feedback systemsEncoders for mounting on servo and drive motors
Linear measuring systemsMagnetic linear measurement and draw-wire systems
Slip ringsStandard modular and customised slip rings for power, signals and media
Displays, counters and safe speed monitorsEvaluation electronics, including speed monitors up to SIL3/PLe

Who Kübler is

The Kübler Group, legally Fritz Kübler GmbH, is a German maker of sensors and transmission components for automation. Most engineers know it for the Sendix range of optical encoders, but Kübler also makes slip rings, magnetic linear measuring systems, motor feedback encoders, inclinometers, signal converters, displays and counters, and safe speed monitors rated up to SIL3/PLe. It groups the range under three headings: measurement, transmission and evaluation.

Kübler makes both encoders and slip rings, which makes it a possible single source when an axis needs both position feedback and power or fieldbus transfer through a rotating joint.

History and ownership

Kübler’s company pages tell a simple story. Engineer Fritz Kübler founded a precision engineering workshop in his parents’ house in Villingen-Schwenningen in 1960, and the first product was a patented short-time meter, the KM1. Fritz Kübler died in 2003. His sons Gebhard F. Kübler and Lothar W. Kübler now run the business as managing partners, with Martin Huth also named in management on the imprint.

The company calls itself an independent, family-owned business. At its 60th anniversary in 2020 it reported just under 500 staff, eleven subsidiaries and four production sites in Germany, India and the USA, plus competence centres in Berlin and Munich. Its current company page cites more than 600 staff, 12 international group members and representation in more than 50 countries. The imprint gives the commercial register entry as HRB 600700 at Freiburg im Breisgau.

Product portfolio

Absolute encoders

  • The Sendix 5868 / 5888 is the 58 mm optical multi-turn encoder with fieldbus and Industrial Ethernet interfaces. The PROFINET IO version, for example, gives 16-bit single-turn and 12-bit multi-turn resolution, 9,000 rpm, IP65/IP67 and -40 to +85 °C from a 10–30 V DC supply. Kübler also lists CANopen, PROFIBUS and EtherCAT versions.
  • The Sendix F5868 / F5888 is the gearless multi-turn design. Kübler’s Intelligent Scan Technology puts the single-turn and multi-turn functions on one OptoASIC, giving up to 32 bits in total (16 + 16), 12,000 rpm and IP65/IP67. Removing the gear train removes a wear and vibration point that matters on mobile and heavy machines.

Incremental encoders

The Sendix 5000 / 5020 is a 50 mm optical incremental encoder with up to 5,000 pulses per revolution, push-pull, TTL/RS422 or open-collector outputs, 12,000 rpm and IP67. The 5020 hollow-shaft version takes shafts up to 15 mm (5/8”). Like the absolute range, it uses Kübler’s Safety-Lock bearing design, which the company promotes for tolerance to vibration and installation misalignment.

Slip rings

The SR085 is a modular 85 mm through-bore slip ring with bores of 20 to 30 mm. Load channels are rated up to 25 A at 240 V or 20 A at 400 V, signal channels carry fieldbus such as PROFIBUS or CANopen at up to 12 Mbit/s, and a two-chamber design separates power from signals. It is rated to 800 rpm, IP64, -35 to +80 °C and 500 million revolutions, with pneumatic and hydraulic lead-through options. Kübler also builds customised slip rings. Our through-bore slip ring page explains how to size bore, circuits and speed.

Linear and other sensors

Kübler’s linear measuring systems, bearingless encoders, shaft copying systems and inclinometers round out the measurement side. We have not yet added series records for those lines.

Technologies and standards

Kübler’s technical themes are robustness and connectivity. The Safety-Lock bearing construction, die-cast housings and wide temperature ratings target mobile machinery and other harsh-duty plant. On connectivity, it offers PROFINET with IRT, EtherCAT, CANopen, PROFIBUS and Modbus RTU, and promotes OPC UA and BiSS on suitable products. On the functional safety side, its evaluation range includes safe speed monitors rated up to SIL3/PLe, and it publishes MTTFd figures for encoders such as the Sendix 5868. For the choice between absolute and incremental encoders, see our guide.

Industries served

Kübler positions itself as a supplier of components for production and automation processes and an enabler for Industry 4.0. Its product pages point to machine building, mobile machinery, harsh-environment plant, and rotating platforms that need power, data and media through the same joint.

Global and UK presence

The head office and main production are in Villingen-Schwenningen, with further production in India and the USA, 12 international group members and representatives in more than 50 countries. The pages we read do not list a UK subsidiary or UK distributor, so UK engineers can contact the German sales and application support teams directly.

What to send when specifying a Kübler part

For an encoder: flange and shaft (solid or hollow, diameter), resolution, single-turn or multi-turn, interface, supply, speed, IP rating and temperature. For a slip ring: bore, number and rating of power and signal channels, bus type and data rate, speed, environment, and any pneumatic or hydraulic passages.

Specify Motion is independent of Kübler. Our engineers can help source Kübler encoders and slip rings or propose equivalents from our supply network on published figures; see find a replacement, the encoders hub or the slip rings hub.

Kübler history: key dates

  1. 1960Fritz Kübler founds a precision engineering workshop in his parents' house in Villingen-Schwenningen
  2. 2003Death of founder Fritz Kübler; the business continues under his sons Gebhard F. and Lothar W. Kübler
  3. 2020The group marks 60 years, with eleven subsidiaries and four production sites in Germany, India and the USA
  4. 2026Short-form catalogue 2026/2027 published; company page cites more than 600 staff and 12 international group members

Kübler encoders

Kübler slip rings

Frequently asked questions

What is Kübler's website?

Kübler's official international website is kuebler.com, with an English section at kuebler.com/en/. It covers encoders, bearingless encoders, motor feedback, linear measuring systems, slip rings, signal converters, counters and safe speed monitors, plus product detail pages with data sheets, the imprint and a short-form catalogue download.

What is Kübler's phone number and email address?

The Kübler imprint lists +49 7720 3903-0 as the main telephone number and info@kuebler.com as the general email for Fritz Kübler GmbH. Product pages also give a sales line, +49 7720 3903 871, and application support at support@kuebler.com on +49 7720 3903 764.

Where is Kübler's headquarters?

Fritz Kübler GmbH is headquartered at Schubertstraße 47, 78054 Villingen-Schwenningen, in the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company was founded in the same town in 1960 and is registered at the Freiburg im Breisgau commercial register (HRB 600700).

Who owns Kübler?

Kübler is an independent family business. Its company page describes it as family-owned since 1960, and the imprint names Gebhard F. Kübler and Lothar W. Kübler, sons of founder Fritz Kübler, as managing partners. There is no outside parent company named on its website.

Does Kübler have a UK office?

Kübler says it is represented in more than 50 countries and has 12 international group members, but the pages we read do not name a UK subsidiary or UK distributor. UK buyers can contact the German sales team. Specify Motion is independent of Kübler and can help source its parts or propose equivalents.

What does Kübler make?

Kübler makes Sendix optical incremental and absolute encoders, bearingless and motor feedback encoders, magnetic linear measuring systems, standard and custom slip rings such as the SR085, signal converters, cables and connectors, displays, counters and safe speed monitors rated up to SIL3/PLe.

Sources

  1. Kübler: Imprint
  2. Kübler: About Kübler
  3. Kübler: Company
  4. Kübler: 60 years of Kübler
  5. Kübler: Products overview
  6. Kübler: Sendix 5868 PROFINET
  7. Kübler: Sendix F5868 Modbus
  8. Kübler: Sendix 5000/5020
  9. Kübler: SR085 slip ring
  10. Kübler: Home page (contact details)

Figures are summarised from the sources above and from manufacturers' published data on the date shown. Always confirm against the current datasheet for your exact part.

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