32 Landscape and Irrigation September 2014 www.landscapeirrigation.com
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n 2014, STIHL Inc. is celebrating 40 years of manufacturing
in the United States. Founded in 1974 by Andreas Stihl AG
& Co. KG, Waiblingen, Germany, STIHL Inc. began with
less than 50 people assembling one model of chain saw. It
has grown to 1,900 employees in Virginia Beach (with 200
more employees in branch locations) building more than 70 differ-
ent models and more than 275 model variations in the U.S.
STIHL Inc. manufactures chain saws, grass and weed trimmers,
leaf blowers, hedge trimmers, edgers, extended-length hedge trim-
mers, pole pruners, brushcutters, earth augers, wood-boring drills,
monofilament trimmer line, and chain saw guide bars.
Located in Virginia Beach, Va., STIHL Inc., the headquar-
ters for U.S. operations for the worldwide STIHL Group,
exports to more than 90 countries around the world; and the
majority of STIHL powerheads sold in America are also built
in America.*
The company, which originally operated out of only 20,000
square feet of rented space, now boasts more than 2.4-million
square feet (under roof) of building space nationwide (2 million
of which is located in Virginia Beach). The company has 150 total
acres of property in Virginia Beach (180 nationwide).
Distribution is exclusive to six independent U.S. distributors
and six STIHL-owned marketing and distribution centers that
sell STIHL products to a nationwide network of 8,500 servicing
retail dealers.
STIHL is the only gasoline-powered chain saw manufacturer
in the world that designs and manufactures its own saw chain (in
Switzerland) and guide bars, with the newest guide bar manufac-
turing facility in Virginia Beach. STIHL products are protected
by more than 1,000 patents.
STIHL "firsts" include:
• Automatic chain oiling
• Centrifugal clutch
• Chain braking system
• Electronic ignition system
• Single-lever Master Control Lever
• Anti-vibration system
• Quick Chain Adjuster (QCA) system
• Side-access chain adjustment
• ElastoStart system
• Ematic System
• World's quietest, gasoline-powered chain saw (at the time,
1996)
• Suger brake
• STIHL Easy2Start dual-spring starting mechanism
• Dual chain braking system
• Intelligent Engine Management (IEM)
• STIHL M-Tronic
• World's first electronically controlled fuel-injection system
on handheld outdoor power equipment
*A majority of STIHL powerheads are built in the United States from
domestic and foreign parts and components.
Article provided by STIHL Inc.
STIHL Inc. Celebrates 40 Years
of Manufacturing in the United States
A n n i v e r s a r y S e r i e s S p e c i a l
LI
All
photos
provided
by
STIHL
Inc.
