ANDREAS STIHL Pvt. Ltd., STIHL's Indian sales subsidiary, celebrated its 10th anniversary on 12 January 2016. Some 150 guests were invited to the celebrations held at sales headquarters in Pune, including STIHL advisory and supervisory board chairman Dr. Nikolas Stihl, Norbert Pick, STIHL executive board member responsible for Marketing and Sales, and servicing dealers from across India. Dr. Nikolas Stihl said in his speech: "Founding STIHL India has proven to be a wise decision. Over the past ten years STIHL India has recorded turnover growth every year. That is a remarkable achievement." The sales subsidiary was founded in 2006 and consisted of an office in Bangalore with a staff of four. Today, 41 men and women are employed at STIHL India.
Norbert Pick, STIHL executive board member responsible for Marketing and Sales, congratulated STIHL India on its positive growth and announced: "In order to continue offering premium quality of the highest standard in India we shall be investing in new warehouses and training facilities for technical service at key Indian locations." The managing director of STIHL India, Parind Prabhudesai, said: "With this support we will be able to maintain our growth course and strengthen the Indian market. To ensure sustained success it is important that we steadily expand our dealer network and offer our customers excellent service and advice in addition to new products and applications."
In spite of initial difficulties STIHL India has become one of the fastest growing sales subsidiaries in the STIHL Group. When the company was founded in 2006 there were very few power tools in use in forestry and agriculture in India. The sales subsidiary therefore began by selling chain saws and brushcutters in small numbers. As the degree of mechanization in agriculture grew in the last few years there was increased demand for handheld outdoor power tools, which prompted STIHL India to build up its nationwide dealer network. It is planned to launch new chain saw and brushcutter models in the entry-level segment in India in 2016. The company expects to see double-digit growth in the coming year.