STIHL, a Germany-based maker of high-tech agricultural and gardening power tools, is looking at a growth of 25 per cent year-on-year in its India business over the next three to four years.

At this projected rate, the enterprise will become an entity valued at Rs 180 crore by end 2018.

“The company has customised some of its products to suit Indian conditions and farming practices,” Parind Prabhudesai, managing director, STIHL India, said during a press conference.

As a response to the need for higher productivity and declining availability of labour, the Indian farming sector is embracing higher levels of mechanisation, he pointed out.

“We are therefore expanding our product offerings and dealer network in India to take the points of sales and service from 320 now to 400 by the end of year,” he said, adding that while the company saw single-digit growth for the first few years, it clocked a 25 per cent jump in its top line from Rs 75 crore in 2014 to Rs 93.5 crore in 2015.

The company sells chain saws, pruners, paddy weeders, brush cutters and high pressure cleaning systems in India that are used in the areas of agriculture, plantations, horticulture, landscaping, disaster management and construction.

Prabhudesai said the company had signed an agreement with Mahatma Phule Krushi Vidyapeeth to train students and the farming community in best practices in agriculture.

It has also instituted a programme to offer one scholarship of Rs 7,500 per month to a post-graduate student and another of Rs 5,000 per month for a graduate student, Prabhudesai said.

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