The 2024 fiscal year brought new developments and challenges in production for the STIHL Group. In order to meet the dynamic market conditions, STIHL focused on adjustments and optimizations at global production locations. In the international STIHL production network, the main focus in the past fiscal year was on innovation in the battery segment, which will help to secure the future viability and long-term success of the STIHL Group. The focus is also on pooling expertise in areas such as equipment construction, assembly, and new projects at global production companies.
Production
Setting the course for battery production in Romania
The international STIHL production network is underscoring the importance of battery-powered products with a new production company in Oradea, Romania. A new facility will open there in 2025, specializing exclusively in battery pack and battery product manufacturing. The groundbreaking ceremony in March and the topping-out ceremony in the summer set the course for a sustainable growth strategy in the past fiscal year. The city, which is located on the border with Hungary, will be home to almost 47,000 square meters of building space on a property of 147,000 square meters. By 2028, the ANDREAS STIHL POWER TOOLS S.R.L. plant is expected to employ around 700 people and thus boost the STIHL Group’s competitiveness in the battery segment.
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Following the opening of the new site in Oradea, Romania, the STIHL Group’s international production network now covers 8 countries.
News from Switzerland
Saw chains, blades for various STIHL hedge trimmers, and hedge cutters for both the gasoline and battery segments are manufactured at STIHL Kettenwerk in Switzerland. Since the 2024 fiscal year, a newly acquired grinder has been processing laser-cut blanks using the deep grinding process, giving every blade sharp cutting teeth. The new facility can manufacture blades up to one meter in bar length, marking a significant milestone in Swiss production. The long blades require a specially adapted clamping device. To meet this challenge, the grinding machine supplier has expanded its portfolio and developed a new machine that is equipped with a sufficiently long traveling table. The new machine grinds the cutting teeth of the blades for STIHL products within minutes. Another special feature is the human–machine interface (HMI) programmed specifically for the process, which simplifies operation of the system. The machine is connected to the general data acquisition system at STIHL Kettenwerk in Switzerland. This allows the detailed production status to be recorded in detail, enabling faults to be detected at an early stage and rectified efficiently.
Assembly automation at STIHL Tirol
The STIHL GTA 40, the powerful addition to the successful GTA 26 model, sets new standards in the field of battery-powered pruners for professionals (Chapter Development). The ramp-up phase for the new machine was successfully carried out at the STIHL production facility in Tyrol, Austria, in 2024. The introduction of the GTA 40 brought with it technical innovations and sophisticated production processes. One milestone was the rollout of a professional chain tensioning lock at the STIHL Group, enabling efficient and reliable chain assembly. This makes the GTA 40 the first machine in the STIHL Group to have the chain mounted on the guide bar directly on the assembly line. This eliminates the time-consuming process of chain tensioning at authorized dealers’ premises. In addition, the assembly stations monitor 100 percent of the force–displacement curve during the joining process to ensure a precise connection between the drive shaft and the electric motor. A specially developed end-of-line (EOL) tester also ensures high quality standards in assembly.
STIHL Tirol is home to another innovation in assembly for the new Series 2 and 4 lawn mowers (Chapter Development): New, highly automated assembly lines were put into operation at the Langkampfen site in the past fiscal year. The lines are characterized by flexible and convertible production, which makes it possible to assemble both gasoline and battery-operated tools with three different cutting widths on a single assembly line. The new systems offer comprehensive documentation and quality control options thanks to a special tracking system. A high degree of automation is also achieved by automated assembly tools for handlebars and covers, as well as an automated packaging system.
New assembly lines have also been specially manufactured for the STIHL FSA 70: The powerful cordless brushcutter from the STIHL AP system is suitable for professional clearing. In 2024, STIHL’s Austrian production company designed a conveyor system with a longer shaft. The special conveyor technology transports components over longer distances along the assembly line to ensure continuous material flow, optimum space utilization, and flexibility through modular adaptation. This increases efficiency and ergonomic performance and improves flexibility in assembly for complex products such as the new STIHL FSA 70 clearing saw. Automatic screwdriving machines for the assembly of handle and engine casings also contribute to the automation of the new line.
Insights into assembly at the STIHL company in Tyrol, Austria.
New standards in battery production in Germany
With the new STIHL TSA 300 cordless cut-off machine (Challenges meet opportunities), STIHL is breaking new ground not only in product development, but also in assembly. The investment in the state-of-the-art matrix assembly structure in Waiblingen during the 2024 fiscal year sets new standards in production. In addition to the TSA 300, up to six different STIHL battery products will be assembled on the flexible assembly system in the future.
The scalable system offers maximum flexibility to respond to market fluctuations. Instead of traditional production structures, STIHL relies on a loose arrangement of workstations and automatic stations, connected by a driverless transport system. Automated processes, such as the central bolting and the highly automated end-of-line system, complement the manual expertise of production employees.
The capacity of the structure will be gradually expanded until 2027 in order to meet increasing demand. Assembly of the future thus remains efficient and adaptable – a clear commitment to innovative strength and the production capabilities in Waiblingen.
At the end of the 2024 fiscal year, another battery production line was put into operation at the German founding company. Series production of the AP 500 battery pack, the only battery pack in the STIHL portfolio that uses pouch cells, has been running since November. On a production area of 180 square meters, a team of five employees per shift manufactures the innovative battery packs, which significantly improve the performance of STIHL tools with their high energy capacity and compactness. The assembly line was planned internally, while some of the production equipment was purchased externally and configured as a complete system with the help of in-house construction professionals. The individual cells are initially prepared fully automatically for further processing on the new assembly line. The cells are then joined by laser welding and enclosed in an aluminum housing. In the next step, the electronics are mounted, soldered, and protected against external influences by encapsulation. Plastic parts manufactured in-house complete the pack before a final functional test ensures STIHL quality.
Double anniversary
STIHL products can be purchased in over 160 countries around the world. STIHL has not only built up a close-knit sales network around the globe over the decades but also established itself as a traditional brand in countless markets. Today, STIHL equipment and components are manufactured in seven countries on four continents. Two of its international production companies celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2024: STIHL Inc. in the USA and STIHL Kettenwerk in Switzerland.
Both companies were founded in 1974. Today, STIHL Inc. is the largest production company in the STIHL Group. In the early days, the 50 employees at the Virginia Beach site assembled around 12,000 saws per year. Today, STIHL Inc. manufactures 100 models of the Group’s gasoline and battery-powered chainsaws and other tools. By the end of the year, more than 100 million units will have been manufactured in the factory over the last several decades. STIHL Inc. is one of the largest private employers in coastal Virginia, with more than 2,700 employees. The US remains STIHL’s biggest single market, accounting for around one-third of global revenue.
The success story of precision work in Switzerland began with the assembly of chainsaws in Wil, Canton of St. Gallen. Having started out with two assembly lines and six employees working on the rented premises of a tire dealer, the company has since expanded into a plant with around 1,000 employees spread across Wil and Bronschhofen. Roughly 30 different hedge trimmer blades and over 70 different saw chain types are manufactured in Switzerland and exported worldwide.
