STIHL started out as one man with a vision. Now, 80 years later, the STIHL group provides jobs for more than 7800 people, including 370 designers and engineers. As a company, we have over 35,000 dealers in more than 160 countries and, due to the excellence of our products and craftsmanship, STIHL has become the preferred choice of professionals and hobby gardeners worldwide.

1926
Founded by Andreas Stihl in Cannstatt near Stuttgart, Germany. Designed the first bucking chainsaw with an electric motor.

1929
Made the first STIHL two-man petrol-driven chainsaw.

1931
Was the first company to export chainsaws to America and Russia.

1950
Developed the world's first chainsaw that could be operated by one person.

1959
Revolutionised the market with the lightweight and handy-sized STIHL Contra chainsaw.

1971
Achieved an annual output of 340,000 units, making STIHL the world's biggest chainsaw manufacturer.

1988
Developed the world's first catalytic converter for two-stroke engines, reducing the level of harmful hydrocarbons in the exhaust gas by 70-80%.

1992
Acquired 100% of the shares in the Austrian garden equipment manufacturer VIKING.

2001
The new VIKING Centre of Excellence opened in Kufstein, Austria, to accommodate full design, production, sales and marketing facilities.

2002
4-mix engine technology combined the advantages of two-stroke and four-stroke units: fewer emissions, lower weight and higher torque.

2003
Added clever ErgoStart starting aid to compact chainsaws and light brushcutters, which made these machines much easier to start.

2004
VIKING won design awards for its new GE150 chipper and GE250 shredder, which feature an advanced design and patented blade system.

2004
Introduced new anti-vibration system in professional chainsaw models MS 341 and MS 361.

Today
STIHL is by far the most widely sold chainsaw brand in the world, and has used its knowledge, skills and expertise gained in developing the chainsaw to become an industry leader for many other garden power tools including hedge trimmers, blowers, vacuum shredders, grass trimmers, brushcutters and pressure washer cleaning systems.

In addition, the VIKING brand, with its consistent development of advanced-thinking products in collaboration with the STIHL group, has made VIKING a leading company within the gardening sector in Europe.

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