Through 2025, STIHL Inc. will have invested over $60 million toward battery manufacturing, including the production of battery-powered blowers, pruners, trimmers and multi-attachment tools, as well as the assembly of over five different battery packs to power those units at its factory in Virginia Beach, Va.
The expansion of the STIHL battery-operated product and service portfolio is in full swing. The STIHL product range includes more than 80 battery-operated tools for consumers and professionals; almost every fourth STIHL product sold is battery-operated. Thirty new battery-operated products are scheduled to hit the market worldwide over the next two years. STIHL aims to increase the share of sales from battery-operated products to at least 35% by 2027, with a target of 80% by 2035. In support of that goal, STIHL Inc., the U.S. operations for the STIHL Group, converted 84K square feet of warehouse space to battery tool manufacturing in 2023.
“In producing our battery products here in the United States, we prioritize excellence, leveraging our vertically integrated manufacturing processes to ensure the highest quality standards,” says STIHL Inc. President and CEO Chris Keffer.
In 2023, battery unit production accounted for 16% of all units produced at STIHL Inc., compared to five years ago when just one battery-powered model, the BGA 56 blower, was assembled in the U.S. What started as one assembly line with less than ten employees grew to over 100 employees dedicated to battery products and battery pack manufacturing. By the end of 2023, battery unit production capacity at STIHL Inc. increased by more than 150% year-over-year. A significant increase is expected again by the end of 2024.
Since its inception in 1974, the STIHL Inc. campus evolved from a single 20,000-square-foot rented warehouse to well over 1.5 million square feet of manufacturing and administrative space on more than 150 acres. In Virginia Beach, as a result of record sales over several years, operations expanded by nearly 50%, resulting in over 1,000 new U.S. manufacturing jobs since 2020.
