Who Makes Stihl Tools And Where Are They Built?

If you're working in a forest, farm, or construction site, then chances are you're often using STIHL tools. STIHL is the producer of one of the most powerful gas-powered chainsaws, cut-off machines, and other outdoor power tools. Although it started off as a professional equipment manufacturer and is still primarily known as such, the company has actually expanded to offering a host of household tools too.

There's the SE 62, a wet/dry vacuum cleaner with a powerful suction fit for a construction site but compact enough for your home. You also have the RMA 460, a walk-behind lawn mower run by a battery and featuring an 18.1-inch cutting width. STIHL has blowers, hedge trimmers, pressure washers and even hand tools like pruners, loppers, and folding saws as well. But you may be wondering, with STIHL such a prominent brand in the U.S., who exactly makes the tools, and where are they manufactured?

STIHL Tools, being an independent family-owned company, makes its own products. When it was first established in 1926, its founder, Swiss-born engineer Andreas Stihl, was the only one handling operations. Before long, his kids Eva, Hans Peter, and Dr. Rüdiger started helping him run the business and took on several positions until 2002. In 1992, Dr. Nikolas Stihl, Hans Peter's son, joined STIHL Tools as well.

STIHL Tools then became part of STIHL Holding AG & Co. KG in 1995, just a few years before the Stihl family moved away from the operational side of the business and onto the Advisory and Supervisory Boards. Since then, STIHL's Board of Management has been filled with non-family members. However, this doesn't mean that STIHL is no longer a family-controlled firm. At present, Andreas Stihl's four children — Hans Peter Stihl, Eva Mayr-Stihl, Dr. Rüdiger Stihl, and Gerhild Schetter (née Stihl) — own the company's shares. Plus, three third-generation Stihl family members — Dr. Nikolas Stihl, Selina Stihl, Rüdiger's daughter, and Karen Tebar, Gerhild Schetter's daughter — are in the Advisory and Supervisory Boards, along with Hans Peter Stihl who serves as both committee's honorary chairman.

As one of the major chainsaw brands in the world, it's unsurprising that STIHL has a global production presence too. STIHL tools are made in seven countries across four continents. These include Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Brazil, China, the Philippines, and the United States. In Germany, where the company was first founded, there are a total of eight factories, specifically in Tengen, Fellbach, Weinsheim, Ludwigsburg (two), and Waiblingen (three). Its Weinsheim site is the among the biggest magnesium die-casting facilities in all of Europe, while both of its Ludwigsburg plants are responsible for assembling and shipping products worldwide.

On the other hand, STIHL only has one site in the U.S., found in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It's the company's biggest plant to date, with a work floor of more than 1.4 million square feet on 150 acres of land. When the factory started operating in 1974, it was dedicated to just assembling one chainsaw model. But from this, the location now makes at least 100 of STIHL's product models. In fact, most of the STIHL tools available in America are manufactured here. Virginia Beach is also where other processes like plastic, piston, and guide bar production happen.

STIHL's remaining facilities are known for other specializations. The Huizhou, China and Santo Tomas, Philippine locations develop the carburetors for STIHL's small engines and hand-held power tools, respectively. The São Leopoldo, Brazil plant pushes out 90% of the cylinders for STIHL products. The facilities in Wil and Bronschhofen, Switzerland, manufacture 70+ saw chain models. And finally, the Langkampfen, Austria factory produces garden power tools and battery products for STIHL.