Waiblingen, 2/2/2024 | Company press release
Dr. Nikolas Stihl receives honor
Dr. Nikolas Stihl, Chairman of the Advisory Board and Supervisory Board of STIHL and long-serving former Managing Director of STIHL Tirol, has received the Grand Decoration of Honor in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria (Großes Silbernes Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) in recognition of his commitment, dedication, and achievements in and on behalf of the Austrian state of Tyrol.
Consul General Eva Maria Ziegler conferred the order on behalf of Austrian Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen. The ceremony took place at the Brand World at the STIHL Group’s headquarters in Waiblingen, Germany, on January 30, 2024, and was attended by Waiblingen mayor Sebastian Wolf, Bernhard Bachleitner (team lead and director Southern Germany, Austrian Business Agency), the Stihl family, and the STIHL Executive Board.
“STIHL Tirol is a success story,” Ziegler said. “Without the untiring commitment of Dr. Nikolas Stihl and the close relationship with staff in Tyrol, which continues to this day, this evolution would by no means have been so successful.”
“This award is a great honor — not only for me, but for the company as well,” Stihl said. “It underscores the positive development and value of the Tyrol location within our company group.”
STIHL in Tirol: a success story
In 1992, STIHL took over VIKING GmbH, an Austrian company specializing in garden tools and outdoor power equipment that was founded in 1981. VIKING was renamed STIHL Tirol in 2018. Dr. Nikolas Stihl, who joined the family business in 1992, became Managing Director of VIKING GmbH in 1993. Under his leadership, the subsidiary’s revenues grew fivefold, making it a pivotal center of excellence for ground-supported outdoor power equipment and battery-operated products for the entire group of companies. Having earned his stripes at the helm of a leading manufacturer of high-quality gardening equipment, Stihl served as president of the European Garden Machinery Federation (EGMF) in Brussels, Belgium, from 2002 to 2006. In 2011, he stepped down as the Managing Director of VIKING to become Chairman of the holding Advisory Board of STIHL and Chairman of the STIHL AG Supervisory Board.
