At the 29th of September 2017 at 11 am, the official ground-breaking ceremony for the extension at VIKING GmbH in Langkampfen took place. Following the relocation of the gardening power tool manufacturer from its original site in Kufstein to Langkampfen in 2001, the next stage of expansion for the member of the STIHL Group followed in 2007 and 2012.
Totalling EUR 22.8 million, it is by far the biggest investment in the company history of VIKING. The decision was taken based on the positive growth in recent years and good prospects for the future. 16,000 m² of ground will be used for the construction project, which will add 20,000 m² of usable space.
The workforce at the site will grow by 100, with a considerable increase in production. There will also be new endurance test chambers and electrical labs as well as a modern training workshop, among other things. As part of the expansion, logistics will be optimised and prototype building will be significantly expanded. VIKING iMow robotic mowers will both do their work and be tested on the partially green roof of the new building. A special highlight will be an automatic small parts warehouse, which will be state of the art.
The extension is already scheduled for completion in late 2018. With it, the parent company STIHL and its Tyrolean subsidiary VIKING are reaffirming their clear commitment to the Tyrol site. Nikolas Stihl, Chairman of the STIHL Advisory and Supervisory Board and himself a long-standing managing director in Langkampfen as well as VIKING Managing Director Peter Pretzsch are enthusiastic about the project: "This ground-breaking ceremony today and the major extension mark a milestone in the history of our company. We see no end to the positive growth in Langkampfen. In fact we're confident that our premium gardening power tools will be successful in the market in the long term."
The VIKING products will only be marketed under the STIHL brand from 2019. This is expected to bring further growth, for which the site will be well prepared with the structural extension.
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 2016, VIKING achieved a turnover of EUR 266.9 million with 414 employees. Distribution is carried out exclusively via specialist service-providing dealers.
The STIHL Group develops, produces and sells power tools for forestry and agriculture as well as landscape cultivation, construction and discerning home users. Its product range is complemented by the VIKING gardening power tool range. In 2016, STIHL achieved a turnover of EUR 3.46 billion with 14,920 employees worldwide.