STIHL 1930 - 1939

The company moves from the centre of Stuttgart to the industrial district of (Bad) Cannstatt, where Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach have already developed the world’s first high-speed combustion engine.

STIHL presents his portable petrol-powered chainsaw at the Leipzig trade fair – it is well received. The first exports go to Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. STIHL enters into a business relationship with a foreign importer (Defries in Milan, Italy) for the first time.

Andreas Stihl travels to the Soviet Union, where he receives an order for several hundred STIHL tree felling machines. Unlike most German companies, he does not have to dismiss anyone in spite of the deep economic crisis. Up to 26 machines per month are produced with a staff that has now reached 38.

Organisation and sales become more demanding as the company grows more successful. Andreas Stihl already has nine office staff at his machine factory.

STIHL trains the first apprentice mechanics. Skilled workers with outstanding qualifications form the backbone of the company, which consistently develops technical improvements and employs new models.

In the first profitable year since the global economic crisis, the employees reap the benefit of the first Christmas bonus in the company’s history. Sales of STIHL chainsaws increase around the world, as the rising industrial demand for wood and the wood product cellulose poses major challenges for forestry management and sawmills.

The new company logo reflects the close relationship of STIHL with the development of the chainsaw and the importance of its products in all areas of forestry and forest operations.

Andreas Stihl takes an extended sales trip through the US and Canada. With 27 models, the STIHL brand is already recognised worldwide as the epitome of modern chainsaws.

To expand operations, Andreas Stihl buys an old paper mill in Neustadt (Waiblingen) on the Rems – today the location of the company’s headquarters.