STOBER

STOBER contact details

Head office

Kieselbronner Straße 12
75177 Pforzheim
Germany

Telephone +49 7231 582-0

Email mail@stoeber.de

Website stoeber.de/en

STOBER DRIVES LTD. (UK)

Centrix House, Upper Keys Business Village
Keys Park Road, Hednesford
Cannock, Staffordshire WS12 2HA
United Kingdom

Telephone +44 1543 458 858

Web stober.co.uk

STOBER DRIVES, INC.

1781 Downing Drive
Maysville, KY 41056
USA

Telephone +1 606 759 5090

Web stober.com

STOBER S.a.r.l.

131 Chemin du Bac à Traille
69300 Caluire-et-Cuire
France

Telephone +33 4 78 98 91 80

Web stober.fr

STOBER TRASMISSIONI S.r.l.

Via Italo Calvino 7, Palazzina D
20017 Rho (Milano)
Italy

Telephone +39 02 93909570

Web stober.it

Show STOBER headquarters on the map Open in Google Maps →

Contact details as published by STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG, checked 2026-10-30. Specify Motion is not affiliated with STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG.

STOBER product lines

Who STOBER is

STOBER is a German drive technology company that builds complete servo axes: the drive controller, the motor, the gearbox and the cables that join them. The company is based in Pforzheim, on the northern edge of the Black Forest, and is known in particular for precision planetary servo gearboxes mounted directly on synchronous servo motors without a coupling, an approach it says it was the first supplier in the world to offer, in 1993.

In English-speaking markets the name is usually written STOBER; the legal entity is STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG.

History and ownership

STOBER began in 1934, when brothers Paul Stöber (1908–1983) and Wilhelm Stöber (1904–1992) founded a mechanics workshop. In 1943 the company launched a variable-speed drive of its own design, and mechanical drive engineering remained the core of the business for decades.

Management passed to the second generation in 1982, when Siegfried Thiel, Ursula Thiel and Bernd Stöber took over. In that period STOBER began to sell frequency inverters, servo drives and software, and introduced the MGS geared motor system. The US subsidiary in Maysville, Kentucky, with its own assembly, opened in 1991, and in 1993 STOBER combined high-precision planetary gearboxes directly with dynamic synchronous servo motors.

From 2003 to 2023 the third generation, Patrick Stöber and Andreas Thiel, ran the company. At the end of 2019 it founded its ninth subsidiary, STOBER Drives Systems Technology in Taicang, China. In 2023 Rainer Wegener took over management, and the two family members remain shareholders. STOBER describes itself as a family business; it does not publish an employee number on the history page we read.

Product portfolio

Drive controllers

The 6th generation of drives shares fieldbus and safety options across the range. The SC6 drive controller is the compact single- or double-axis unit, with 4.5 to 19 A nominal and up to 39.9 A maximum current at 4 kHz. The SI6 drive controller is a slim 45 mm multi-axis system on a central PS6 supply module, from 5 to 50 A nominal and up to 105 A maximum. Both offer EtherCAT, PROFINET or EtherNet/IP and STO, or STO and SS1 over FSoE or PROFIsafe, to SIL 3 / PL e. The SD6 drive controller covers higher power, to 85 A nominal and 153 A maximum, with optional SS1, SS2 and SLS. A stand-alone SB6 controls up to four axes.

Motors

The EZ synchronous servo motors run from 0.4 to 91 Nm nominal torque (100.3 Nm stall) with EnDat 3, EnDat 2.x, one-cable or resolver feedback, and mount directly on STOBER coaxial, offset and right-angle gearboxes. The LM Lean motors are encoderless synchronous motors in efficiency class IE5: the SC6 or SI6 drive works out position and speed from the motor power connection, holding positioning to about ±1°, which suits conveyors, winders and automation axes that do not need servo-grade accuracy.

Gearboxes

For servo axes, the P planetary gearboxes offer ratios from 3 to 100, permitted acceleration torque up to 3,450 Nm and 1 to 8 arcmin backlash. The PH planetary gearboxes add a flange output, up to 7,500 Nm and 1 to 4 arcmin, and the PHQ planetary gearboxes reach ratios to 600 and acceleration torque to 43,000 Nm with 1 to 3 arcmin. Economy PE, high-ratio PHV, KS right-angle, rack and pinion and helical ranges complete the line-up. See our gearbox hub for sizing advice.

Technologies and standards

STOBER’s product logic is the direct-mounted servo geared motor: the motor shaft goes straight into the gearbox input without a coupling, which shortens the axis and removes a source of compliance. Its drives support EnDat 3 and one-cable connection, and safety functions are certified to SIL 3 and PL e (Cat. 4). The LM motors meet efficiency class IE5 to IEC/TS 60034-30-2. EZ and LM motors carry CE and cURus marks.

Industries served

STOBER’s own pages name automation and robotics, packaging machines, machine tools and plastics machines for its EZ motors, and automation and winders for its Lean motors. Our packaging and food and robotics and cobots pages cover these sectors.

Global and UK presence

Besides Pforzheim, STOBER lists subsidiaries in the USA, China, Japan, Taiwan, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, Hungary and Sweden. In the UK, STOBER DRIVES LTD. operates from Centrix House, Upper Keys Business Village, Keys Park Road, Hednesford, Cannock, Staffordshire WS12 2HA, telephone +44 1543 458 858. UK engineers can therefore buy direct from a STOBER subsidiary with local support, and the head office also runs a 24-hour urgent service line on +49 7231 582-3000 for breakdowns.

Sourcing STOBER parts through Specify Motion

Specify Motion is independent of STOBER and is not affiliated with it. We can help you source STOBER drives, motors and gearboxes for an existing machine, or propose equivalents from our supply network on published figures. Use the find a replacement form to send a part number or nameplate photo.

STOBER history: key dates

1. 1934Brothers Paul and Wilhelm Stöber found a mechanics workshop
2. 1943STOBER launches its own variable-speed drive
3. 1982Management passes to the second generation of the founding families
4. 1991STOBER USA subsidiary with assembly opens in Maysville, Kentucky
5. 1993First supplier to mate high-precision planetary gearboxes directly with synchronous servo motors
6. 2003Third generation, Patrick Stöber and Andreas Thiel, takes over management
7. 2019STOBER Drives Systems Technology founded in Taicang, China, its ninth subsidiary
8. 2023Rainer Wegener becomes managing director; family members remain shareholders

STOBER servo drives

AC servo drive

SC6 drive controller

Compact single- and double-axis servo drive controllers with 4.5–19 A nominal and up to 39.9 A maximum current (4 kHz), EtherCAT, PROFINET or EtherNet/IP and STO/SS1 to SIL 3 / PL e.

Multi-axis servo drive

SI6 drive controller

Slim 45 mm multi-axis servo drive controllers on a central PS6 supply module, with 5–50 A nominal and up to 105 A maximum current (4 kHz), and the same fieldbus and safety options as SC6.

AC servo drive

SD6 drive controller

High-performance servo drive controller with 2.3–85 A nominal and up to 153 A maximum current (4 kHz), EtherCAT, PROFINET or CANopen and optional SS1, SS2 and SLS safety.

STOBER servo motors

AC servo motor

EZ synchronous servo motors

Synchronous servo motors with nominal torque from 0.4 to 91 Nm and stall torque up to 100.3 Nm, for direct mounting on STOBER gearboxes, with EnDat 3, EnDat 2.x, one-cable or resolver feedback.

AC servo motor

LM Lean motors

Encoderless synchronous motors in efficiency class IE5 with nominal torque from 2.25 to 25.7 Nm (29.8 Nm stall), run position-controlled by SC6 or SI6 drives to about ±1°.

STOBER gearboxes

Planetary gearbox

P planetary gearboxes

Solid-shaft planetary servo gearboxes with ratios from 3 to 100, permitted acceleration torque from 21 to 3,450 Nm and backlash from 1 to 8 arcmin.

Planetary gearbox

PH planetary gearboxes

Flange-output planetary servo gearboxes with ratios from 4 to 100, permitted acceleration torque from 60 to 7,500 Nm and backlash from 1 to 4 arcmin.

Planetary gearbox

PHQ planetary gearboxes

High-torque flange-output planetary gearboxes with ratios from 5.5 to 600, permitted acceleration torque from 200 to 43,000 Nm and backlash from 1 to 3 arcmin.

Frequently asked questions

What is the STOBER website?

The group website is stoeber.de, with English pages at stoeber.de/en/. It covers drive controllers, motors, gearboxes and geared motors, downloads and the online configurator, the company history and the legal notice. National subsidiaries run their own domains, such as stober.co.uk for the UK and stober.com for the USA.

What is the STOBER phone number?

The head office in Pforzheim publishes +49 7231 582-0, with mail@stoeber.de as the general email and sales@stoeber.de in the legal notice. There is also a 24-hour urgent service line, +49 7231 582-3000. The UK subsidiary in Cannock publishes +44 1543 458 858.

Where is STOBER's headquarters?

The headquarters is at Kieselbronner Straße 12, 75177 Pforzheim, Germany. The legal entity is STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG, registered at the Mannheim register court under HRA 502800, with STÖBER Antriebstechnik + Verwaltungs GmbH as the personally liable partner.

Who owns STOBER?

STOBER describes itself as a family business. It was founded by Paul and Wilhelm Stöber in 1934 and managed by the Stöber and Thiel families for three generations. Since 2023 the company has been led by Rainer Wegener, while third-generation members Patrick Stöber and Andreas Thiel remain shareholders.

Does STOBER have a UK office?

Yes. STOBER DRIVES LTD. is at Centrix House, Upper Keys Business Village, Keys Park Road, Hednesford, Cannock, Staffordshire WS12 2HA, telephone +44 1543 458 858, website stober.co.uk. It is one of the company's own subsidiaries rather than a distributor.

What does STOBER make?

Servo drive systems: SC6, SI6, SD6 and SB6 drive controllers, EZ synchronous servo motors and LM encoderless Lean motors, plus a wide range of planetary, right-angle, rack and pinion and helical gearboxes, often supplied as direct-mounted servo geared motors with cables and safety technology.

Sources

1. STOBER: Legal notice
2. STOBER: Contact (head office and subsidiaries)
3. STOBER: The history of STOBER
4. STOBER: Products
5. STOBER: 6th generation drive controllers
6. STOBER: EZ synchronous servo motors
7. STOBER: Lean motors
8. STOBER: Planetary gearboxes
9. STOBER: Planetary geared Lean motors
10. STOBER: KS right-angle servo gearbox

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.