1950 - 1959

Company history

1950: Reduced working hours and settlement
1950: Reduced working hours and settlement

Robbed of cash by the 1948 currency reform, STIHL has to dismiss employees for the first time ever. On 24 February 1950, Andreas Stihl applies for a settlement to prepare his company for the future.

1951: The recovery begins
1951: The recovery begins

With 215 employees, staff levels at STIHL are at their lowest since the currency reform. But from now on, the number of employees starts to increase steadily.

1955: STIHL among the pioneers
1955: STIHL among the pioneers

The newly established German Federal Armed Forces put their trust in STIHL, equipping their pioneers with the new BLK petrol-powered chainsaw.

1957: In good voice together
1957: In good voice together

The STIHL plant choir is founded, bringing a company tradition established in 1935 back to life.

1959: The second generation takes the helm
1959: The second generation takes the helm

Eva Stihl, daughter of the founder Andreas Stihl, joins the company. She is Deputy Chairperson of the Executive Board and the member in charge of Finance, Controlling and IT until 2002. A year later, her brother Hans Peter Stihl joins the company as Executive Assistant. Soon he and his sister will manage the business.

1959: STIHL customer magazine
1959: STIHL customer magazine

With the first edition of the customer magazine “Holz und Motor” (Wood and Engine) in July 1959 – circulation over 100,000! – STIHL starts to inform the company’s numerous fans of the latest developments in chainsaw technology and the many fields of application for modern tools.

Product history

1950: BL petrol-powered chainsaw
1950: BL petrol-powered chainsaw

The first single-person petrol-powered chainsaw (16 kg) that can also make a horizontal cut is equipped with a manually adjustable swivelling carburettor. This allows the saw to be used for cutting as well as for felling.

1953: BL 241 auger
1953: BL 241 auger

An add-on kit transforms the BL chainsaw into a plant hole auger. STIHL begins the promising expansion of its product range in the field of portable motorised equipment.

1954: BLK petrol-powered chainsaw
1954: BLK petrol-powered chainsaw

The first truly lightweight saw weighs 11 kg and is designated as the BLK: “Benzin - Leicht - Klein” (petrol - lightweight - small).

1957: BLK forestry combination
1957: BLK forestry combination

The brush cutter (“Dachs”), clearing saw (“Marder”) and thinning saw (“Biber”) attachments, the post and plant hole auger and the suction and pressure pump significantly expand the range of applications for chainsaws.

1958: Membrane carburettor for any direction
1958: Membrane carburettor for any direction

The position-independent (“aviator”) carburettor finally makes it possible to use the chainsaw in all working positions, to fell and cut logs to length, for example, without having to manually swivel the carburettor first.

1959: STIHL Contra – the dawn of a new era
1959: STIHL Contra – the dawn of a new era

The Contra petrol-powered chainsaw (6 hp, 12 kg) is the first gearless STIHL chainsaw. Equipped with numerous other innovations, such as improved chain lubrication and a reinforced guide bar as well new sound suppressors, the Contra marks the dawn of a new technological era for forestry and forest operations.