50 years of meticulous swiss craftmanship
What started out in 1974 as just a small production facility and a vision has grown into a major production site within the STIHL manufacturing network. All of the chains for STIHL chainsaws and more than 30 different hedge trimmer blades have been manufactured at the STIHL chain plant in Switzerland for over 50 years. This anniversary year, “Made in Switzerland” continues to mean the utmost in precision craftsmanship at STIHL.
SMALL START, BIG SUCCESS
Founded as a partnership, STIHL & Co. began welcoming people to STIHL Wil in the mid-1970s. Located in the heart of the small town of Wil, production began in a rented space that had previously been used by a tire dealership. The company started out on July 1, 1974, with six employees and two machines. It was managed by Robert Schäfer, who ran the company until 1997. The inauguration of the CH1 chain plant at Hubstrasse 100 in the year 1980 took place during this era along with the first and second expansions of the production facility. His successor, Dr. Walter Engelhard, shaped the fortunes of the site over many years, from 1997 to 2009, and significantly expanded production capacity with the inauguration of the second chain plant in 2008.
Björn Rosenplänter, Managing Director of the STIHL chain plant in Switzerland | Photo: STIHL
A the third managing director in STIHL’s chain plant history, Joachim Zappe took over the production site in 2009, ultimately leading it to become the largest employer in Wil. He built on his predecessors’ success and continuously expanded the company. A logistics building, a parking garage and a striking entrance building with a cafeteria were added.
The CH2 plant in Bronschhofen was also significantly expanded. Björn Rosenplänter has been managing the chain plant, which now has almost 1,000 employees, since January 2024: “Our goal is to continuously improve our saw chains as a product, along with the processes involved in producing them. We want to provide users with the best and most reliable tools for their work — with the meticulous craftsmanship Switzerland is known for all over the world. Switzerland will remain a reliable location in the STIHL Group’s overall production network for the supply of saw chains worldwide. For me personally, this anniversary year is the starting signal to continue this success story.”
PRECISION MEETS INNOVATION
The chain factory is an impressive and ultra-modern plant known for the highest levels of technology, innovation and efficiency. To protect STIHL’s own know-how and prevent industrial espionage, cameras, including cell phone cameras, are not permitted on the production floor. STIHL saw chain production runs around the clock in three shifts. A chain consists of four components: rivets, cutting teeth, drive links and connecting links. Manufacturing them involves many production steps carried out using special STIHL equipment. The quality of the individual parts and the finished chain is checked after each production step and finally subjected to a strict quality inspection before the items are packaged into either 100-foot rolls or individual chains and exported from Wil to 160 countries worldwide.
This picture showing a single employee in the late 1970s gives little indication of how many employees work in Wil today. | Photo: STIHL
FOCUS ON EMPLOYEES
To show the company’s appreciation, all employees and their families as well as retired employees were invited to celebrate this special anniversary together in early July. Over 1,000 guests took part in the event, which was held on the company’s grounds in Wil. It featured numerous activities, food and drink and entertainment for all ages.
A ceremony with around 130 people also took place at the end of September. Invitees and participants included the Stihl family, members of the Executive Board and representatives of the Swiss public sector. In his welcome speech, Rosenplänter not only emphasized the impressive development of the plant over the last five decades, but also reaffirmed the company’s close ties with the region and its employees. “Our motivated, dedicated, hardworking, experienced and loyal employees are the beating heart of the company. Day after day, they ensure that the saw chains made here in Switzerland meet STIHL’s stringent standards of quality.
