I asked Michael Traub, CEO of Stihl AG, a question I have asked several manufacturers of battery powered equipment. “Batteries are confusing for buyers – pro and homeowner – because manufacturers use different words and measures to describe them. Do you see a time when there might be consistency, even standardization, in battery language and manufacturing?”
I’ve asked several people at Stihl that question. Its battery designations are least clear, in my opinion. Where other manufacturers at least use amp-hours or voltage or some quantifiable number in their name, Stihl uses alphanumerics. So why not ask Traub, too? He runs the Stihl global operation.
“The push in Europe is certainly higher for that [standardization]. I always say, Americans innovate; Europeans regulate. We love to regulate stuff here in Europe,” said Traub. Sitting in Stihl’s headquarters in Waiblingen, Germany with a collection of international journalists, I should have expected an international answer.
He referred to the prospect as “a distant, distant future.” Then he added, “But I do still think that the battery, the battery pack, what it does, the way it’s designed, it’s a key differentiator. Therefore, it’s not just gas being put in a tank, right? It’s not the same. And I think in a not-regulated world, the best idea will win.”
That was a very “free market” answer given to an international audience in a day of discussions about global product needs, design and delivery. America is Stihl’s “largest and most complex market,” according to Traub. But it’s just one of many. Similar could be said for Echo, Toro, Deere, Honda and other equipment manufacturers.
Obvious, right? Maybe, but the implications of global business are not always obvious, especially today. Companies like Stihl and Echo, for example, have large U.S. manufacturing facilities that can focus on creating equipment for U.S. users. But they need others in the world. Stihl manufactures chain saw guide bars in Germany. It manufactures saw chains in Switzerland. Global decision-making impacts the resulting product mix.
Manufacturers with less robust assembly operations are forced to make exceedingly difficult decisions today. Sure, the U.S. market has big potential, but we’re also slower to adopt battery products and robotics. And our distribution area is large and complex for a manufacturer that is without scale.
Then there are tariffs. I cover that in this month’s “news” section – though doing so is a bit of a fool’s errand since trade policies can change without notice. If the tariffs have a positive impact – and I admit that I’m reaching here to find one – it’s that they remind us of our position in the global chain of business and industry today.
I’m working on my laptop made in China, reflecting on a trip to Germany, wearing a shirt made in Bangladesh while drinking my Brazilian coffee. We’re all connected.