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PRESIDENT AND CEO, STIHL INC., VIRGINIA BEACH
PRESIDENT AND CEO, STIHL INC., VIRGINIA BEACH
Virginia Business// August 29, 2024//
Keffer, who took over leadership of U.S. operations in August 2023 for German chainsaw and power tools manufacturer Stihl, has been leading Stihl’s transition toward battery-powered equipment, a $60 million-plus investment that included conversion of 84,000 square feet of warehouse space to battery tool manufacturing. He joined the company in 2022 as vice president for sales and marketing and previously spent about two decades with Stanley Black and Decker.
With more than 3,300 employees, about 2,700 of whom are in Virginia Beach, the U.S. division is the largest subsidiary of Stihl Group and exports to more than 75 countries. In 2023, the company completed a $49 million expansion of its Virginia Beach chain saw guide bar manufacturing facility.
In 1974, Stihl opened its doors in the United States with 50 workers assembling one model of chainsaw. Today, employees produce more than 80 models of Stihl equipment that are distributed through the company’s 11 regional branches and distributors and sold through a network of more than 10,000 authorized local Stihl dealers.
