The Genius of Stihl, an Amazing Story

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So true Sawrtroll, I've been slacking. Thing is sales have been rolling and I've been pretty busy. Sales usually they slack off a tad around June but not this year. Even with high gas prices and a sluggish economy our Stihl sales here at the store have increased quite alot over last year.

I'll get back in here with ya and give you a hard time like old times soon as I get a breather around here,:cheers: :cheers:

LOL - you told me the story before - and Spike has a similar one - huge sales that is - good luck to both of you + Scott - when are you all going to team up, to dominate the right coast (leave the left one to Andy).......:greenchainsaw:
 
Stihl in the US

Export to the US
Gordon T Williams and Harding Smith, of Tull Williams in New Jersey, approach Andreas and want to import Stihl saws to the US. Andreas agrees and the first shipment is 58 saws. Sales are slow, until after 1960 with the direct drive models becoming available.
Stihl registers the saw tooth logo as a trademark and starts developing brand awareness for the line. The steadily growing workforce begins to adopt this brand awareness as part of the Stihl company, and quality becomes a major source of pride among workers. The Stihl choir is founded at this time from the ranks of the workers, and continues to this day.
As sales increase the mechanization of the production process must be developed as well. A entire department is set up to focus on the engineering of the production lines and machine tool processes to speed up production and maintain the level of quality that the previous “craftsman” type production could maintain.
It took until 1964 to come up with a mechanized process for grinding chain teeth and assembly of saw chain. it had been done by hand before.
The production of saws, spare parts, accessories, and tractors and diesel engines has increased the workforce to over 600. Saw sales are down some, but diversification has allowed the company to stay busy and maintain sales and therefore jobs.
In 1959 comprehensive sales training was organized. This is very advanced for the times. Dale Carnegie is hired to assist in sales force training.
The tractors were always Andreas favorite thing and he focused more attention on them than the saws, but the marketing folks tell him that a direct drive saw needs to be developed to take advantage of engine design progress and the chipper tooth chain that is now being used, instead of scratcher tooth. Andreas just wants to speed up the gear ratio on the BL, but is eventually persuaded to that a gearless saw is necessary. The point that sways him comes from the export market. Mainly from McCulloch and Homelite offering direct drive saws in the US. Thus the 1106 series saw begins development. It is designated a D 24, with a diaphragm carb, chipper chain, a new bar design and a chain lube pump. It is marketed as the Lightning in the US and the Contra in Europe. This saw was put heads up against the Solo Rex in Europe, which had been on the market for a year, but with a float carb and scratcher chain. The Contra takes off in Europe and sales grow at a double-digit rate.
This leads to market arguments: Solo says the Stihl saw will not out perform the Rex, and a neutral third-party test proves them wrong, and Dolmar contests the claim that Stihl is the largest manufacturer of saws in Germany. In court Stihl wins.
In the US the first Contas sold are very well received by end users, but there are reliability problems with con rods, crankshaft, and case failures. Andreas is visiting US dealers with Williams and Smith and is shown these failures by the dealers.
At a gala dinner meeting for dealers he remained very quiet, and when asked to speak surprised everyone by speaking from his heart “ I am surrounded by nobodies. I will fire them all and hire people from the street. At least they will do what I say. Maybe I should sell the whole business to McCulloch”. He said this in German, and nobody in the room understood him. So Mr. Guhl, his export director, translated for the all American group, by saying, “Welcome and thank you for coming. With good products and excellent distributors like you one day we will even beat McCulloch.”
Fortunately, Stihl did not carry out his threat, but did make sure the problems were quickly corrected, and the new version proved to be very reliable and out perform the competition. Mr. Guhl goes on to say ” Mistakes, even serious ones, are forgotten by the market, providing you acknowledge them.”
From this lesson Stihl would put new models through extensive trials, and if the unit could not be made to work well, it would not go to market.
 
Thanks, Ultra,
It is interesting to me to see some of the history of the company and how it has become part of the corporate culture of Stihl today. The fact that Andreas was really bothered by the problems here with the Lightning, and did make things happen to improve it, and fortunately had people working for him that kept him from making rash mistakes, is evident today. The continuous improvement process is one aspect. It used to bug me that part numbers were always being changed and that one model of saw would have so many variations and changes as time went by, but now it makes a little better sense. If a part needs a change to make it better or more reliable, then it happens, never mind the confusion it may cause later down the road, it is worth it for the improvement of the saw. I know there are those that only gripe, and Stihl doesn't always get it right every time, but the corporate culture is to make a good product better, and the proof is there. Not just what happened with the early Contra models, but even the 044 or 066 that has evolved into the MS whatever today, shows how the product steadily improves over time. Despite the EPA stuff on mufflers I think the new MS 660 I have is a better built and engineered saw than the old early production 066 I restored last year. And the muffler is easy to do something about!:)
 
Thanks, Ultra,
It is interesting to me to see some of the history of the company and how it has become part of the corporate culture of Stihl today. The fact that Andreas was really bothered by the problems here with the Lightning, and did make things happen to improve it, and fortunately had people working for him that kept him from making rash mistakes, is evident today. The continuous improvement process is one aspect. It used to bug me that part numbers were always being changed and that one model of saw would have so many variations and changes as time went by, but now it makes a little better sense. If a part needs a change to make it better or more reliable, then it happens, never mind the confusion it may cause later down the road, it is worth it for the improvement of the saw. I know there are those that only gripe, and Stihl doesn't always get it right every time, but the corporate culture is to make a good product better, and the proof is there. Not just what happened with the early Contra models, but even the 044 or 066 that has evolved into the MS whatever today, shows how the product steadily improves over time. Despite the EPA stuff on mufflers I think the new MS 660 I have is a better built and engineered saw than the old early production 066 I restored last year. And the muffler is easy to do something about!:)

Good post:clap:
 
OK, Mow, I get the hint!
I have started working on the vintage saw pile, and I have a mid '50s Ram with a Power Products AH47 apart for complete restoration, and a couple of David Bradley gear drives apart as well. I am thinking about a pic rebuild thread like the one I did on the 034, so either I work on saws or write from the book: decisions, decisions!
So here is a little more:

The Next Generation Joins the Company
By 1959 there are 640 employees. They build 53 saws a day. They also build products like the two-stroke diesel as well as units like brushcutters, earth augers, and other accessories.
Andreas is 63 and asks 27 year old graduate engineer Hans Peter to join the company. He is working for a consultancy, and Andreas warns that he will sell if Hans peter doesn’t join him. Hans Peter did his graduate thesis on direct injection chainsaw engine design, in 1957. An actual engine was built and ran based on this design. He worked at Bosch for a while, then the consulting job for various companies, helping them modernize their manufacturing.
He says he always knew he would join his father sooner or later. There was no doubt about it.
His sister Eva has already been working with Andreas. No red carpet was rolled out for her; she had to prove her value and was given no preferential treatment. She started by opening and sorting the mail, and writing letters and dealing with customer complaints.
She quickly began to have influence as she saw opportunities to gather statistical info on production, marketing, and also became involved in advertising.
When Hans Peter joins the company, there is no extra space available, so he shares an office with Eva. He reflects that this was a historic moment for the company and that he and Eva continued to work closely and develop a great trust that he feels led to the great success the company experienced over the years.
By the middle of 1960 Hans Peter is in charge of Manufacturing and Design, and by 1963 Eva is in charge of the financial department.
Saw production goes up to 104 units a day by 1960, mostly due to the success of the Contra.
Investments in equipment and facilities allow production to be increased. By 1965 saw production is up to 130,000 units per year.
Annual sales volume triples in the first five years in which the siblings work at STIHL. The workforce grows to 1100 employees. Production processes continue to be improved, so fewer workers can make more units per day, which helps keep the cost per unit down and sales continue to increase.
STIHL now has about 50% market share in Germany for saws, and in some other countries STIHL has even better market share. It is believed that world wide STIHL has about 16% market share, putting them 3rd behind Homelite and McCulloch. Exports to the U. S. double every year.
The German economy is booming, and unemployment is zero, so to keep pace STIHL recruits from abroad, bringing in Italians, Spaniards, and Greeks, mainly for assembly line positions.
Andreas gives all four children an interest in the company. Hans Peter and Eva prove to their father that they can be trusted and are capable.
By the time Andreas dies in 1972, the company has 2500 employees, and builds 310,000 saws a year.


I find it sad that the great American companies are no more. Poulan, Homelite, and Mac all have taken the stock market route to volume sales and badge engineering, and that just goes to show how far-sighted Andreas was to keep the business in the family and privately held, which is still the case today.
 
OK, Mow, I get the hint!
I have started working on the vintage saw pile, and I have a mid '50s Ram with a Power Products AH47 apart for complete restoration, and a couple of David Bradley gear drives apart as well. I am thinking about a pic rebuild thread like the one I did on the 034, so either I work on saws or write from the book: decisions, decisions!
So here is a little more:

The Next Generation Joins the Company
By 1959 there are 640 employees. They build 53 saws a day. They also build products like the two-stroke diesel as well as units like brushcutters, earth augers, and other accessories.
Andreas is 63 and asks 27 year old graduate engineer Hans Peter to join the company. He is working for a consultancy, and Andreas warns that he will sell if Hans peter doesn’t join him. Hans Peter did his graduate thesis on direct injection chainsaw engine design, in 1957. An actual engine was built and ran based on this design. He worked at Bosch for a while, then the consulting job for various companies, helping them modernize their manufacturing.
He says he always knew he would join his father sooner or later. There was no doubt about it.
His sister Eva has already been working with Andreas. No red carpet was rolled out for her; she had to prove her value and was given no preferential treatment. She started by opening and sorting the mail, and writing letters and dealing with customer complaints.
She quickly began to have influence as she saw opportunities to gather statistical info on production, marketing, and also became involved in advertising.
When Hans Peter joins the company, there is no extra space available, so he shares an office with Eva. He reflects that this was a historic moment for the company and that he and Eva continued to work closely and develop a great trust that he feels led to the great success the company experienced over the years.
By the middle of 1960 Hans Peter is in charge of Manufacturing and Design, and by 1963 Eva is in charge of the financial department.
Saw production goes up to 104 units a day by 1960, mostly due to the success of the Contra.
Investments in equipment and facilities allow production to be increased. By 1965 saw production is up to 130,000 units per year.
Annual sales volume triples in the first five years in which the siblings work at STIHL. The workforce grows to 1100 employees. Production processes continue to be improved, so fewer workers can make more units per day, which helps keep the cost per unit down and sales continue to increase.
STIHL now has about 50% market share in Germany for saws, and in some other countries STIHL has even better market share. It is believed that world wide STIHL has about 16% market share, putting them 3rd behind Homelite and McCulloch. Exports to the U. S. double every year.
The German economy is booming, and unemployment is zero, so to keep pace STIHL recruits from abroad, bringing in Italians, Spaniards, and Greeks, mainly for assembly line positions.
Andreas gives all four children an interest in the company. Hans Peter and Eva prove to their father that they can be trusted and are capable.
By the time Andreas dies in 1972, the company has 2500 employees, and builds 310,000 saws a year.


I find it sad that the great American companies are no more. Poulan, Homelite, and Mac all have taken the stock market route to volume sales and badge engineering, and that just goes to show how far-sighted Andreas was to keep the business in the family and privately held, which is still the case today.


:clap: :clap: Keep typing Eddie....:clap: :clap:
 
OK, Mow, I get the hint!
I have started working on the vintage saw pile, and I have a mid '50s Ram with a Power Products AH47 apart for complete restoration, and a couple of David Bradley gear drives apart as well. I am thinking about a pic rebuild thread like the one I did on the 034, so either I work on saws or write from the book: decisions, decisions!
So here is a little more:

The Next Generation Joins the Company
By 1959 there are 640 employees. They build 53 saws a day. They also build products like the two-stroke diesel as well as units like brushcutters, earth augers, and other accessories.
Andreas is 63 and asks 27 year old graduate engineer Hans Peter to join the company. He is working for a consultancy, and Andreas warns that he will sell if Hans peter doesn’t join him. Hans Peter did his graduate thesis on direct injection chainsaw engine design, in 1957. An actual engine was built and ran based on this design. He worked at Bosch for a while, then the consulting job for various companies, helping them modernize their manufacturing.
He says he always knew he would join his father sooner or later. There was no doubt about it.
His sister Eva has already been working with Andreas. No red carpet was rolled out for her; she had to prove her value and was given no preferential treatment. She started by opening and sorting the mail, and writing letters and dealing with customer complaints.
She quickly began to have influence as she saw opportunities to gather statistical info on production, marketing, and also became involved in advertising.
When Hans Peter joins the company, there is no extra space available, so he shares an office with Eva. He reflects that this was a historic moment for the company and that he and Eva continued to work closely and develop a great trust that he feels led to the great success the company experienced over the years.
By the middle of 1960 Hans Peter is in charge of Manufacturing and Design, and by 1963 Eva is in charge of the financial department.
Saw production goes up to 104 units a day by 1960, mostly due to the success of the Contra.
Investments in equipment and facilities allow production to be increased. By 1965 saw production is up to 130,000 units per year.
Annual sales volume triples in the first five years in which the siblings work at STIHL. The workforce grows to 1100 employees. Production processes continue to be improved, so fewer workers can make more units per day, which helps keep the cost per unit down and sales continue to increase.
STIHL now has about 50% market share in Germany for saws, and in some other countries STIHL has even better market share. It is believed that world wide STIHL has about 16% market share, putting them 3rd behind Homelite and McCulloch. Exports to the U. S. double every year.
The German economy is booming, and unemployment is zero, so to keep pace STIHL recruits from abroad, bringing in Italians, Spaniards, and Greeks, mainly for assembly line positions.
Andreas gives all four children an interest in the company. Hans Peter and Eva prove to their father that they can be trusted and are capable.
By the time Andreas dies in 1972, the company has 2500 employees, and builds 310,000 saws a year.


I find it sad that the great American companies are no more. Poulan, Homelite, and Mac all have taken the stock market route to volume sales and badge engineering, and that just goes to show how far-sighted Andreas was to keep the business in the family and privately held, which is still the case today.


Oppppppppps Eddie, a slight correction. Andreas Stihl dies on 1/14/1973 at the grand old age of 76. 1971 was a major year for Stihl however. Stihl became the No. 1 selling brand of chainsaw in the world in 1971. Some 37 years later to this very day Stihl continues to remain the No. 1 selling brand of chainsaw in the world. Quite a feat by any standard. He lived to see his idea from a small bench in a tiny work shop at home become a worldwide brand and the top selling brand worldwide as well.

The most amazing part and genuis of the Stihl story is Andreas Stihl himself. Would the modern chainsaws as we know them today have ever evolved without Andreas Stihl, the chances are good they would have not. His list of firsts and patents to prove them lead the way for all the rest to follow. Every chainsaw made today, regardless of brand, has some idea in it that came first from Andreas Stihl.

Proceed with the story Eddie. I like reading more than typing.....
 
Thanks

I appreciate you taking the ball and running with it. Tom is obviously to busy getting rich selling Stihl that he can't take time to tell the story, more power to him, it is a great thing that he started. I kind of like this tag team approach to the story. I wonder if there are any books like it about Jred and Husky and Homelite and Mac. All the writers are to be congratulated for passing along a great story and a little more saw knowledge. JR
 
Oppppppppps Eddie, a slight correction. Andreas Stihl dies on 1/14/1973 at the grand old age of 76. 1971 was a major year for Stihl however. Stihl became the No. 1 selling brand of chainsaw in the world in 1971. Some 37 years later to this very day Stihl continues to remain the No. 1 selling brand of chainsaw in the world. Quite a feat by any standard. He lived to see his idea from a small bench in a tiny work shop at home become a worldwide brand and the top selling brand worldwide as well.

The most amazing part and genuis of the Stihl story is Andreas Stihl himself. Would the modern chainsaws as we know them today have ever evolved without Andreas Stihl, the chances are good they would have not. His list of firsts and patents to prove them lead the way for all the rest to follow. Every chainsaw made today, regardless of brand, has some idea in it that came first from Andreas Stihl.

Proceed with the story Eddie. I like reading more than typing.....



:popcorn: :popcorn:
 
I appreciate you taking the ball and running with it. Tom is obviously to busy getting rich selling Stihl that he can't take time to tell the story, more power to him, it is a great thing that he started. I kind of like this tag team approach to the story. I wonder if there are any books like it about Jred and Husky and Homelite and Mac. All the writers are to be congratulated for passing along a great story and a little more saw knowledge. JR

I think there is one about Dolmar.

But as fas as Husky,Homelite,Mac and the others. No one knows who their daddy was,so it is hard to write a book on them.:jawdrop:
 
I think there is one about Dolmar.

But as fas as Husky,Homelite,Mac and the others. No one knows who their daddy was,so it is hard to write a book on them.:jawdrop:



Bob McCulloch




Biography
Robert Paxton McCulloch was born May 11, 1911, in Missouri. His grandfather, John I. Beggs, made his fortune by implementing Thomas Edison’s electrical powerplants in cities around the world, manufacturing and selling electric trolley cars, and founding Milwaukee’s public utility system. McCulloch, along with his two siblings, inherited his grandfather’s fortune in 1925.[1]

Two years after he graduated from Stanford University, he married Barbra Ann Briggs, whose father was Stephen Foster Briggs of Briggs and Stratton. His first manufacturing endeavor was McCulloch Engineering Company, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There he built racing engines and superchargers. In his early 30s, he sold the company to Borg-Warner Corporation for US$1 million.[2]

McCulloch then started McCulloch Aviation; and, in 1946, he changed his company’s name to McCulloch Motors. Building small gasoline engines, his competitors included his in-laws and Ralph Evinrude. Evinrude led the market for boat motors, while Briggs and Stratton pulled ahead in the lawn mower and garden tractor market.


[edit] Chainsaws
It was the chainsaw niche that McCulloch dominated, beginning with the first chainsaw with his name on it, manufactured in 1948. McCulloch's chainsaw was used to cut frozen lake ice into large cubes as well as trees into lumber. By the next year, McCulloch’s 3-25 further revolutionized the market, with the one man, light weight chainsaw. [2]

In the 1950s, McCulloch started McCulloch Oil Corporation, which pursued oil and gas exploration, land development and geothermal energy.

In spite of Evinrude’s market lead, McCulloch continued to pursue McCulloch Motors’ quest for the outboard market during the next decade. This led him to Lake Havasu in search of a test site. McCulloch purchased 3,500 acres (14 km²) of lakeside property along Pittsburgh Point. In 1963, on the courthouse steps of Kingman, Arizona, McCulloch purchased a 26 square miles (67 km²) parcel of barren desert, that would become the site for Lake Havasu City. At the time it was the largest single tract of state land ever sold in Arizona[2], and the cost per acre was under US$75.

To spur the growth of the infant city, in 1964 McCulloch opened a chainsaw manufacturing plant in the new community. Within two years there were three manufacturing plants, with some 400 employees.[2]


[edit] Purchase of London Bridge
In 1968, McCulloch was searching for a unique attraction for his city, which eventually took him to London. By the early 1960s it was apparent that London Bridge was gradually sinking into the River Thames. It was decided that a new bridge would need to be built. Rather than raze the existing bridge, it was decided to put the historic landmark on the auction block.

When casting his bid for the bridge, McCulloch doubled the estimated cost of dismantling the structure, which was US$1.2 million, bringing the price to US$2.4 million. He then added on US$60,000, a thousand dollars for each year of his age at the time he estimated the bridge would be raised in Arizona[2]. His gesture earned him the winning bid.


Numbered stones can still be seen at London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, ArizonaIt took three years to complete the project. The structure was dismantled brick by brick, with each section marked and numbered, in much the same way the bridge was originally built. The granite pieces were stacked at the Surrey Commercial Docks, and then were shipped through the Panama Canal, to Long Beach, California. From Long Beach, the granite blocks were trucked inland 300 miles (500 km). Reassembly was done, matching the numbered stones and by filling in the area under the bridge with mounds of desert sand to support each arch as it was reconstructed.

The reconstructed attraction was officially opened on October 10, 1971, with a gala celebration. Opening day included an elaborate fanfare: fireworks, a parade, entertainment, and celebrities, such as Bonanza's Lorne Greene, and dignitaries such as the Lord Mayor of London. [2]

With the purchase of the bridge, McCulloch accelerated his development campaign, increasing the number of flights into the city. At the time, the airport was located on the island. The free flights to Lake Havasu lasted until 1978, and reportedly they totalled 2,702 flights, bringing in 37,000 prospective buyers.[2]

A popular, and implausible, urban legend is that McCulloch mistakenly believed that he was buying the more impressive Tower Bridge. The bridge had been heavily marketed by the London Council in an effort to sell it worldwide. Ivan Luckin, the council member that sold the bridge has always stated that London sold the bridge honestly.[1]
 
Good stuff on McCulloch, Tzed.
Here is my next installment, but I will be on the road for a week so nothing much till then.

Let’s go Karting

Gordon T. Williams, the U. S. importer, wants a kart engine. The 1106 series engine from the Contra is converted to a racing engine. Hans Peter is excited about the technical challenge this poses. Investments are needed to get the development and special parts required to make the engine work in this application. Hans Peter goes to the U. S. for the first time in 1960 to do publicity for the kart engine as well as for saws. He races a STIHL kart engine and actually leads until it overheats and quits, but no bad advertising comes from this.
He stays involved in racing karts in Germany and other countries nearby, along with his BIL Willy Schetter. Hans Peter runs in the production class, and Willy does well in the racing class, getting second his first year at the national level, and first the next two years. While this make the STIHL brand well known in karting circles, it has little value for publicity for the rest of the product line. By 1963 the kart engine venture ends. Karting did not catch on well in Germany, and an Italian rotary valve engine comes out that is dominant on the race track. An entirely new engine would have to be designed and tested to keep pace, so the decision to pull out is made. Hans Peter notes that while the small production runs and low volume sales were not very profitable, the research on engine design and making more power is applied to the saw product line with very positive results.

The Company Changes

Hans Peter and Eva recognize that the company is still a crafts-man based firm, and they recognize the need to transform the business into a modern industrial company, so they implement cost to volume accounting, and modern bill of materials and engineering change systems to make steps towards progress, but slowly and carefully. To become a competitor at the international level, they ask their father to allow them to hire some college grads. The idea was to have a healthy mix of practical people and a staff of well educated business and science people as well. Cost accounting shows where they are profitable and where they need to change. This meant that cherished and long time products were stopped and production was concentrated on things that were doing well. It is noted that generational conflicts were avoided, as Andreas would listen to a well prepared argument for a change even though sometimes it was with a heavy heart that he allowed the change to happen, such as stopping production on the tractors.
A new hire business grad named Peter Wagener discusses having a flexible organizational chart that allows for more management staff as the company grows, so Hans Peter and Eva don’t end up being the chair of every department. This is to avoid the problems they have seen with other companies that start growing and hit a wall by sticking with old structures and personnel.
By 1968 they have recruited a data processing expert, and added expert market research and market planning people to the staff. A research department is now up and running.
Andreas is heard to grumble about the fact that Eva only hires college grads, but he continues to agree with the management practices Eva and Hans Peter suggest. They know that as the business grows and times change they must have more quality at the executive levels. This does cause some conflict with the long term employees that worked their way up the ladder into management without a degree, but no effort has ever been made to force anyone out.
As the company grows, there is internal conflict between the new younger educated staff and the “old Guard”, but over time things get worked out and progress is made, by give and take on both sides. The staff keep the internal conflicts inside the company, with no need to go to labor court, and eventually the organization prospers and succeeds as a result.
The toughest decision Andreas faces is when Eva and Hans Peter confront their father with the fact that the tractors are losing money. He reluctantly agrees to focus all the company’s effort on the chain saw. As a result, all the resources that were used for the tractor and diesel engine products were now applied to the saw product lines, with continued growth. By 1964 they hire the 1,000th employee.


I will post some pics of the Kart engine and the tractor later, and the next chapter talks about Hans Peter going to see Robert McCulloch and the folks at Oregon chain.
TTFN
 
Alittle insight in what kind of boss was Andreas Stihl. According to story there was hardly an executive in the company he didn't fire at least once only to hire back shortly later on.

When his export boss Reinhold Guhl wanted to get rid of a what he felt was a weak agent abroad he went to Stihl with the suggestion. Apparently a bad idea. Stihl reacted by telling Guhl he didn't want to see people like him anymore, get out of my sight. Guhl took it as he was fired and went home. Two days later Guhl's doorbell rang. Mrs. Guhl answered the door and there stood Andreas Stihl. Stihl asked if he could have a cup of coffee and walked in. Without mentioning what happened two days before Stihl turned to Mr. Guhl and said "you know we wanted to go to Switzerland on Thursday, we should really drive down on Wednesday evening. "We can then have a couple glasses of wine together and better prepare ourselves for the meeting". This was Stihl's way of rehiring Mr. Guhl which in turn made it easier for Mr. Guhl to accept 2 more firings later only to be hired back each time.

Another example of Stihl the boss and his executives. He often held meetings that ran late into the night. Some company celebrations ran well past midnight and the boss, Andrea Stihl, showed his stamia. Come 8am he would be at the gate of the factory watching to see that those that had parited with him showed up for work on time.

Though he was tuff on his executives he was not on his workers in the factory. He insisted that management under him never treat any worker with
arrogance.

There were many instances when Stihl himself would go meet workers in the yard or at the work bench and discuss their pay one on one. If he felt the worker wasn't paid enuff he would tell them to go to the payroll office and tell them I personally said you will now get such and such per hour.

It appears Stihl had little mercy for his executives but showed alot of compassion for his workers in the factory and yard.
 
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