The German Reich capitulates on May 8th, 1945. Andreas Stihl is arrested by the French troops on May 27, 1945. Shortly afterwards he is handed over to the the Amercians.
His private fortune is confiscated by the Americans and he himself is interned. He is moved through the Army Internee Camps of Ludwigsburg and Garmish to the Moosburg Internment and Laobr Camp in Bavaria, where he has to work in the forest.
The lock up of the boss is a huge blow to the company. Fortunately , the American military appoints an experienced trustee who is loyal to Andreas Stihl, Karl Gutjahr. He steers the company through two very difficult post-war years. Thanks to the support of an Amercain officer, Colonel Drewfs of the 384th Engineering Battalion, permission is obtained to re-open the company on June 1,1945. It had been closed since April 21st.
Karl Gutjahr's pleasure is short lived. The remaining saws are impounded. They have to be distributed according to a plan laid down by the forestry diectorate. The start of production is further hampered by power cuts and lack of coal. Moreover, there are insufficient skilled workers because of the workforce, which had been at 500 at the beginning of the year, has shrunk to now 80.
This is further aggravated by pressing everyday problems, above all, the hunger brought about by the poor food supply, a lack of heating fuels, and operational restrictions due to the power cuts. An effort is made to balance work sharing between Neustadt and Bad Cannstatt. Transportation of the workers between the two factories creates problems. The bus used for transporting runs only at certain times, which makes a flexiable arrangement very difficult. To compensate for operational restrictions caused by power cuts, the companty works one hour longer from Wednesday to Saturday. This applies to Neustadt as well as Stuttgart.
A decsion to re-open the factory kitchen in Neustadt is made in October 1945. In order to obtain firewood for the company and employees, the works counsil commissions two members of the sales staff, who have contacts with the sawmills and forest services, to get in touch with clients at their conveinance. The counsil also urges management to take every opportunity to find wood for the company's employees. Regardless, the fuelwood issue remains a problem.
Faced by inadequate food supplies, in March 1946 the works counsil requests that every employee be granted a holiday durng harvest time upon request. It purposes later that all the fruit that grows on company land be used in the company kitchen. In addition to lunch, the factory kitchen now privides a free breakfast soup. Even so, the factory kitchen is criticzed by the staff. Unjustifiably so according to the works counsil, since the present rations do not allow better meals to be provided.
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Bartering is also practiced whenever possible as a way to obtain provisions. A farmer from Strohgau brings a truck load of potatoes in exchanged for a chainsaw assembled from spare parts. Most goes to the kitchen Neustadt, the rest going to Bad Camstatt, where a stove with a boiler is built immediately. It is used to boil the potatoes every morning. During the morning break, everyone can peel the jacketed potatoes and satisfy their hunger. What is left over is fried and served for lunch.
In a report on the company's business situation, authorized signatory Friedrich Mayer says in the spring of 1946: The situation with raw materials is very serious, but the financial position has improved and orders on hand are high. Six months later he quotes numbers: Up to now inventories have fallen significantly. The fact that the advantage in productive labor costs has increased from 43% after the war ended to 52% today can be seen as a sign of healthy development. There are still problems with raw materials, and with a shortage of skilled workers.
Sales contribute to the healthy development. On the home market, the first forestry authorities , important earlier and future customers, approach the company in 1946. They ask trustee Karl Gutjahr to train their workers in the use of chainsaws. This promotes unit sales. At the sametime the company wants to supply saws to export markets again. Initial export negotiations begin through the American military adminstration.
Theft become the biggest annoyance for management. The works counsil strongly appeals to employeesto stop stealing wood, electric light bulbs, kitchen utensils, etc.
New dangers loom, big dangers. The factory is threatened with confiscation for reparation payments. Management and the works counsil are in agreement: Due to the importance of our company for the supply of fuel and reconstruction, everything should be done to have the company released again. This matter should not be made public at the present time so as not to cause any unrest among the staff.
As fortune would have it, Stihl is spared reparation payments and dismantling. Had the towns of Waiblingen and Stuttgart continued to be part of the French occupational zone for much longer, the dismantling of factories would probably have took place. The American authorities, unlike the French, had no great interest in German machinery and equipment.
In April 1947, Friedrich Mayer presents a report on activities to management. In it he stresses difficulties with raw materials and the bureauracy of the authorities are hindering the company's progress. Likewise, the export business is being impeded because of foreign competitors have an advantage over us due to our poor exchange rates.
Nevertheless, the first export orders can be shipped. Chainsaws are shipped to Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland. Mayer quotes the monthly sales volume at about 160,000RM, which is approximately equivalent
to the montly turnover in 1938. The financial standing of the company could be looked at as good. However, an issue yet unresolved is the future ownership of the company. By then, dismantling of the plant and equipment for reparation payments is no longer expected.
The fact that Karl Gutjahr maintains close contact with Andreas Stihl sets off discussions about his trusteeship. A new trustee is appointedin December, Emil Gaiser. He introduces himself to the staff at a works meeting and promises that he will do everything to accomplish company growth without pushing employees in the process. At the same meeting Mayer reports the the company is suffering from acquiring materials. This results in a drop in output. There is no longer any risk of the factory being dismantled. However, the efforts to hold onto to individual machine tools of foreign orgin have failed. The company has to let the machines go.
At the end of January 1948, Gaiser introduces a points system in order to lift employee morale. Eight points are given every full working month. One point is equals one RM. Two points are deducted for everyday missed without an official or medical confirmation. As the shortage of skilled workers continues to cause problems, former employees who had been dismissed for political reasons are re-hired with the agreement of the works counsil.
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