Langkampfen, 4 February 2019

STIHL Tirol is strengthening development and production at its site in Langkampfen and officially opened a new extension building at an inauguration ceremony on 1 February 2019. With an investment of € 22.8 million, this is the largest single investment at the Austrian site to date. Nikolas Stihl, chairman of the STIHL supervisory and advisory boards and former long-standing managing director of the site in Tyrol, emphasised: "This investment is not only an expression of our confidence in the ongoing business development of STIHL Tirol, but also a further commitment to the site. We will continue to rely on Langkampfen as a centre of excellence and for the production of STIHL ground-based gardening tools and battery-powered products."

150 new jobs and modern facilities on 20,000 square metres

The additional 20,000 square meters of usable floor space accommodate numerous new workspaces and around 150 new jobs. 65 of the new positions were filled by the start of 2019 and the workforce at STIHL Tirol will soon grow to over 600 employees. The expansion has seen big growth in the production of lawn mowers and other STIHL ground-based gardening tools, as well as expansion of the development facilities. This includes construction of modern electrical laboratories for STIHL iMow robotic mowers and new endurance testing rooms. A highlight is the green roof, which serves as a test area for robotic mowers. Logistics was expanded to include a fully automated small parts warehouse, which is currently one of the most modern warehouse systems in Austria. A dedicated apprentice workshop was also built for the targeted training of young professionals.

Extension work completed on schedule

The demanding construction project was completed within just 16 months. According to STIHL Tirol managing director Clemens Schaller: "We are pleased that this major project met the deadline while also precisely adhering to cost and quality specifications." Building project manager and authorised officer Josef Koller adds: "We would also like to highlight the smooth and cooperative partnership we had with our general contractor, Rieder Bau, and the authorities involved." Many of the external partners come from the local area. "This means a lot of added value stays in the region", says Koller.

Information about STIHL Tirol:
STIHL Tirol was founded as VIKING GmbH in 1981 in the Austrian town of Kufstein and the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the STIHL Group since 1992. In 2001, the company moved from Kufstein to Langkampfen. Since then, the site has been continuously expanded to accommodate the company's rapid growth. This extension is already the fourth stage of expansion. As of 2019, all of the formerly green VIKING products are being sold under the STIHL brand. The Langkampfen site develops, produces and distributes not only battery-powered and electric products, but also lawn mowers, robotic mowers, ride-on mowers, garden shredders, tillers and scarifiers. Strong and continuous growth in recent years has made the Tyrolean company a leader in the gardening equipment sector. In 2017, the company had 480 employees and a turnover of € 381.9 million.

Company profile of the STIHL Group:
The STIHL Group develops, manufactures and distributes motorised equipment for forestry, agriculture, landscape management, the building industry and private garden owners. The product range is supplemented with digital solutions and services. Products are generally distributed through specialist dealers – including 38 sales and marketing STIHL subsidiaries, around 120 importers and more than 45,000 specialist dealers in over 160 countries. STIHL manufactures products in seven countries worldwide: Germany, USA, Brazil, Switzerland, Austria, China and the Philippines. STIHL has been the best-selling chainsaw brand worldwide since 1971. The company was founded in 1926 and the corporate headquarters are in Waiblingen near Stuttgart, Germany. In 2017, STIHL had 15,875 employees worldwide and a turnover of € 3.8 billion.

Your contact for further questions

STIHL Tirol GmbH
Mag. Christian Dag
Hans Peter Stihl-Straße 5
A-6336 Langkampfen
Tel.: +43 (0) 5372 6972 267
Email: christian.dag@stihl.at