Capital Expenditure

In 2024, the STIHL Group once again directed significant capital expenditure toward promoting innovation and securing long-term growth. Even in a dynamic and challenging market environment, STIHL remains true to its strategy: continuous investment in state-of-the-art technologies, the expansion of our global presence, and the development of sustainable solutions. Despite global challenges and an adjusted forecast for sales and revenue, the STIHL Group is consistently pursuing a long-term investment strategy. By making targeted investments in STIHL employees, the latest technologies, and the expansion of global operations, the Group is strengthening its competitiveness and laying the foundation for a successful future.

Capital expenditure at the German founding company

The German founding company invested heavily in new construction projects for office space and production buildings in the past fiscal year. New production facilities were required for the new STIHL GTA 40 guide bar (Chapter Development), as existing facilities are designed for larger bars. To this end, the production area at the German production site in Waiblingen-Hohenacker was expanded with a total investment of around 21 million euros.

STIHL also invested in new technologies for guide bar production. The welding process uses innovative methods such as medium-frequency technology to generate heat and an electromagnet to precisely adjust the contact pressure. The switch to three electrically heated furnaces with efficient heat recovery on the painting line also represents a major step toward greater sustainability.

Thanks to this capital expenditure, STIHL is expanding the range of applications for its production systems and can now produce smaller bars with lengths of less than 30 centimeters on-site.

In addition to new production equipment, STIHL invested in the future viability of the Waiblingen-Hohenacker site in the past fiscal year and gave the go-ahead for the construction of a new service building at Plant 2. With capital expenditure of around 60 million euros, the modern building will house and provide central functions such as a new computer center and central compressed air and cooling generation. This will strengthen the security of the plant’s energy supply in the long term and create the basis for future development.

The building will also house office workstations for Facility Management and an IT service point to make internal processes more efficient.

To connect the building to the existing plant infrastructure, extensive construction work will be carried out across the site, including the construction of new supply ducts and pipes.

This investment underlines STIHL’s long-term commitment to continuously improving the facility and aligning it with future requirements.

“Contra House” sets new standards at ANDREAS STIHL Ltd. in the UK

In the past fiscal year, the STIHL company in the UK invested around 54 million euros in a comprehensive overhaul. An 11,500-square-meter main building and a 9,000-square-meter distribution center make up the new headquarters of the British STIHL company in Surrey Heath, west of London. The new location boasts state-of-the-art picking and storage systems and guarantees excellent delivery and customer service. “Contra House,” as the new location is aptly named, stands out not only for its modern design, but also for its sustainable construction: Solar panels cover two-thirds of the roof area and there are over 21 charging stations for electric vehicles. The headquarters complex houses over 100 workstations, new training facilities for dealers, a film studio, collaborative workstations, and a fully equipped workshop.

Expansion of sales center at STIHL Brazil

Despite the challenges of the 2024 fiscal year, the Group also invested heavily at international locations to ensure that the global production network remains strong. In March 2024, the official inauguration ceremony for the expansion of STIHL Brazil’s logistics center took place at the site in São Leopoldo. The total value of the investment amounts to around 13 million euros. The investment in the building is a logical step and part of the plan to expand and optimize the logistics business at STIHL Brazil.

The capacity of the warehouse was increased from 7,069 to 16,700 pallet spaces, which equates to a 137 percent increase, although the built-up area has only increased by 57 percent, from 14,200 to 21,600 square meters. This was made possible by the verticalization of storage, with racks up to 16 meters high, the use of narrow aisle racking, and semi-autonomous forklift technology. This expansion means that the company now has enough space to store all finished products, raw materials, and components internally, which significantly reduces logistics costs.

Investment in modern warehouse logistics

The STIHL Group has been investing specifically in technological innovations for years to make warehouse processes more efficient. One example from the 2024 fiscal year was the introduction of the ProGlove scanner. The hands-free back-of-hand scanner with integrated display provides STIHL employees with all the relevant information immediately when picking orders. A quick click is all it takes to trigger a scan – eliminating the need to constantly put the scanner down and then pick it back up.

This innovation can save up to four seconds per pick. In combination with other optimizations, the use of the ProGlove creates considerable cost savings. The scanner is already being used successfully in Dieburg, the UK, and Italy and will be rolled out to other companies in the future.

The hardware portfolio has also been expanded: In addition to classic scanners, tablets are now being used in the picking process and can be combined with the ProGlove or other scanners. This capital expenditure underscores STIHL’s commitment to technological advancement, optimal resource utilization, and continuous workflow improvement.