Clemens Schaller has been the new Managing Director at gardening power tool manufacturer VIKING since 1 May 2018. He succeeds Peter Pretzsch, who left the STIHL Group at his own request on 30 April.
Clemens Schaller studied mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University (Germany) and completed a doctorate at TU Dortmund University. Since 1988, he has worked at numerous sites of Robert Bosch GmbH and BSH Hausgeräte GmbH and held positions of responsibility in production. These also included international postings such as three years in Bosch's alternator manufacturing facility in Great Britain at the beginning of his career and later eight years as the Chief Technical Officer of the BSH regional subsidiary in the USA. His special duties included the development and ramp-up of new factories and the systematic roll-out of lean production principles across 43 BSH factories as the head of the responsible staff department. 61-year-old Schaller also spent five years overseeing all of BSH's dishwasher production activities at seven sites worldwide. Clemens Schaller joined the STIHL Group on 1 November 2017 as the head of the division for the coordination of Globe Tools/China.
Peter Pretzsch was the Managing Director of VIKING since 2011, and before this spent many years in senior positions at the STIHL headquarters in Waiblingen. "I would like to thank Mr Pretzsch for his many and varied accomplishments and the successful cooperation during his 28 years with the company", said Nikolas Stihl, STIHL Chairman of the STIHL Advisory and Supervisory Board, wishing him every success for the future.
VIKING GmbH produces and sells lawn mowers, robotic mowers, ride-on mowers, scarifiers, garden shredders and tillers. VIKING is a member of the STIHL Group and assembles most of the battery-powered range for the entire STIHL Group at its site in Tyrol. In 2017, VIKING achieved a turnover of EUR 381.8 million with 480 employees. Distribution is carried out exclusively via specialist service-providing dealers. From 2019, VIKING brand products will only be sold under the STIHL brand. The STIHL Group develops, produces and sells power tools for forestry and agriculture as well as landscape cultivation, construction and private garden owners. STIHL has been the world's highest-selling chain saw brand since 1971. The company was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Waiblingen, Germany. In 2017, STIHL achieved a turnover of EUR 3.8 billion with 15,875 employees worldwide.