STIHL pledges support for subsidiary in South Africa

“For us as a family-owned company, the protection and safety of our employees is our top priority,” says Dr Nikolas Stihl, chairperson of the group’s advisory and supervisory boards.

He says the group’s South African subsidiary, Andreas STIHL Ltd in Pietermaritzburg, was badly affected by the recent unrest, with its warehouse being completely destroyed and its office building severely damaged as a result of the unrest and looting.

For this reason, STIHL headquarters in Germany has set up a crisis team to organise measures for the protection and well-being of the subsidiary’s roughly 40 employees, in co-operation with STIHL South Africa MD Hayden Hutton.

“We are pleased that all of the employees and their families are unharmed,” says Stihl.

Commitment to SA reaffirmed

“Our subsidiary in South Africa will continue to exist going forward. No employees will lose their jobs due to this unusual situation. On the contrary, we will rebuild STIHL South Africa. To do so, we need the expertise and dedication of our staff. We will make sure that our customers can continue to buy and use STIHL products in the future,” says Stihl.

The STIHL subsidiary in South Africa supplies local dealers with products. The company has also pledged to help dealers and is working on ways to supply dealers with its products in the short to medium term. Containers are being shipped to the country, with plans in place to also send equipment to South Africa by air.