A long history to tell

STIHL celebrates its 25th anniversary in Mexico.

STIHL has been operating in Mexico for 25 years. To celebrate the day, around a hundred guests, from various parts, came together for a gathering at the STIHL location in Puebla on March 12th. Among those present were Mr. Norbert Pick, Directive Board Member Sales & Marketing worldwide, Paul Strohm, Senior Manager for Sales in Latin America and the Caribbean, General Managers of other STIHL subsidiaries, employees from the STIHL México, regional and overseas suppliers, as well as the principle dealers from the country.

“STIHL is already a leading brand in Mexican life, recognized as a market leader in various sectors in the country, such as forestry, agriculture and horticulture”, said Emilio Castro, Marketing Manager. In the last 10 years, the branch’s turnover has quadrupled, resulting in the need for expansion, especially the warehouse, in order to keep up with this vital growth.

What is the secret of its success since 1995? According to him, “The staff and the teamwork. They are without doubt, fundamental parts of the evolution and success of the company. And clearly, our values, vision and mission, altogether, make us stronger every day.”

During the event, tributes were given to the long-standing distributors of STIHL Mexico. The Senior Sales Manager for the STIHL Group for Latin America and the Caribbean, Paul Strohm, pointed out that the distribution network in the country is impeccable. “They are reliable partners. They provide the best sales advice in the market, have the right support, with a specially equipped workshop, technical and commercial training and excellent after-sales service with which the competition can’t compete.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A HALF CENTURY OF DEDICATION

50th anniversary of Fapasisa, in Paraguay.

Fapasisa celebrated STIHL’s 50th anniversary in Paraguay on May 8th. Due to the global situation with COVID-19 and the quarantine measures put in place by the local government, the celebrations could not take place as planned. The small team on duty at the plant on the day stopped briefly (with doors closed and all appropriate hygiene precautions) to acknowledge the five decades of work and achievement.




“We reaffirm our commitment to carry on with the same energy and dedication that is the hallmark of our operation”
Carlos Zuccolillo, President of Fapasisa

Fapasisa was founded on May 8th, 1970, taking over the operations of Maderera Paraguaya de Exportacion SA, STIHL’s representative in the country. The company began as a provider of supplies and equipment to the forestry industry. As well as STIHL equipment, the company imported saw blades from Sandvik, Carborundum sharpening stones, Oberg files, flat belts, steel cords and similar items.

Once five employees in rented accommodation, it now has 85 employees, its own premises and three branches for customer services. “Since the beginning, Fapasisa has supported the STIHL brand and end customers with the best technical service and range of products and original spare parts in our market. We currently have around 42 authorized workshops and over 150 distributors throughout the country”, said Zuccolillo proudly.

In his words, STIHL is synonymous with quality and warranty in Paraguay through Fapasisa, which provides a wide range of gasoline, electrical and battery-powered equipment.

Special cake to commemorate the 50th anniversary in Paraguay

Mr. Serafin Gonzalez, founding manager, and Carlos Zuccolillo, the current President of Fapasisa

New in the product range

GTA 26

The new multi-use battery-powered GTA 26 pruning saw has joined the STIHL product range, ready to take on the domestic jobs in home gardens. This tool is easy to maintain and very versatile. It can be used to cut, not only branches and shrubs, but also planks giving you great cutting performance and a clean finish. The whole product line is battery-powered and therefore quiet, practical and produces no harmful gases.

Online Training

Online training is an important tool, alongside on-site training, to pass on the knowledge necessary for the business to be successful.

STIHL believes that developing people is important to the business. Training enables your entire team, subsidiaries and importers, to develop skills and competencies that directly contribute to business results.

Due to training we aquire the necessary knowledge to be able to use the product, to learn the details of the equipment, refine our technical knowledge and learn the best way to pass on the information to our customer in an effective, safe and reliable way.

With the development of technology and the growing ease of access to the internet all over the world, distance learning is becoming more and more popular. This is the most appropriate system in the current situation and will certainly continue to be used in the future, both for those who are training and those who are learning.

STIHL is working towards meeting its commitment to ensure teams and trainers are fully trained, increasing the knowledge within the local distribution network. Look out for opportunities!

In person training is highly valuable, but with the current situation with the pandemic and with more changes still to come, the importance of on-line training is growing.

Communication during times of corona

During times of uncertainty it is very important to know that we have someone we can rely on. And STIHL is a partner, which maintains a close and trusting relationship with people

The past few months have been quite challenging around the world with the evolution of the new coronavirus.
It is still an uncertain period and care must be taken, so it is very important to strengthen the relationship of trust between customers and the brand, with inspiring communication that, above all, transmits empowerment

Below are 10 tips on what to do and what not to do:

“Potenciá tu talento con nosostros”, says the Instagram post from STIHL Argentina

Live streams were part of the #EmCasaComSTIHL program on STIHL’s social networks in Brazil

Chile: “Esta temporada STIHL te acompaña”

Straight to the point

Market segmentation helps to find potential new customers and improves direct communication

One of STIHL’s goals for 2020 is to learn even more about its market, and segmentation is the first step towards this. In order to deepen the knowledge, a survey was carried out from May 5 to 19 with the participation of five subsidiaries and 17 importers from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Among the results, 80% are professional clients and 20% are home users. Agriculture is the main market in the region, and the most important niches are houses, condominiums, coffee and cattle

More targeted actions

Brazil is using the strategic market segmentation with the main objective of promoting even more targeted and assertive actions for the final consumer. “Clarity regarding our commercial performance is very important, because we can get straight to the point in our approach for each market and its respective segments and niches,” says Rafael Zanoni, Marketing Manager

The Products and Planning Supervisor, Fernando Pellegrini, explains that the main change is the reduction from six to five markets. “The change provides a clearer and leaner classification, facilitating everyone’s understanding for the development of actions focused on different audiences”, he says.

Rafael Zanoni, Marketing Manager at STIHL Brazil

Fernando Pellegrini, Product Marketing and Planning Supervisor at STIHL Brazil

Stores can more carefully observe and analyze in which market their customers are, and then they can better target their efforts towards the customer’s specific needs. Knowing the consumer well, and understanding the purpose of the purchase the shop owner can then execute personalized relationship actions, increasing customer loyalty and, consequently, the profitability of the business. In the same way, strategic segmentation is important to identify sales opportunities in markets that have not yet been explored much.

 Do you know which product is used in which niche according to market segmentation? Take a look here.

/News

New STIHL marketing and communication app

STIHL subsidiaries and importers in Latin America and the Caribbean have gained an important new reinforcement in their communication.

A new marketing application has been launched exclusively for the region. Very practical, safe and quick to use, it is available for download on the Apple and Android systems, with information in English and Spanish.

News – This is how the application opens. Here you will find news about the brand, marketing material, programs, new colleagues and guidelines in general.
Your space – This space is for sharing the best practices from each country. Inspire everyone by telling them what has been bringing positive results in your area as well as what initiatives have been developed recently, etc.
Videos – Explanatory videos, messages from STIHL.
Surveys – Quick feedback on various subjects. It is very important that you leave your opinion so that we can constantly improve.
Library – Search for the documents you need. Marketing material, documents and newsletters, find everything that is important to you and your team.
Contact – A space for you to leave your message.
Profile – Data about you, a photo and email.

Take a look at the video with 7 tips for better use of the application