(VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.) – Actor and philanthropist Paul Walker recently visited the Virginia Beach, Va., headquarters of STIHL Inc. to thank the company for its support of his relief organization Reach Out Worldwide (ROWW), a network of professionals with first-responder skill sets. STIHL Inc. is the exclusive handheld outdoor power equipment sponsor of ROWW, whose volunteers use their expertise after natural disasters strike to help accelerate relief efforts by augmenting local resources.
Walker and key members of his ROWW team visited STIHL Inc. in order to meet the employees involved in building the tools used in their worldwide relief efforts.
“We were honored to have the chance to see how the products we depend on are manufactured,” said Paul Walker, founder of ROWW. “It was obvious how genuinely enthusiastic the employees are, and the commitment to quality can be seen from the cleanliness of the facility to the fact that each product is tested before it leaves the factory.”
Recognized as the “Official Chain Saw” during ROWW missions such as relief for Hurricane Sandy victims, STIHL Inc. provides the necessary handheld outdoor power equipment to help the volunteers in their relief efforts and recovery processes, including chain saws, augers and cut-off machines, as well as equipment training in preparation for the domestic and international missions.
“We are inspired by the way Reach Out Worldwide impacts individuals. They show up to disaster sites and make a difference. We are proud to support their efforts in every way we can,” said Fred Whyte, president of STIHL Inc. “Knowing our products make their difficult work easier validates why we focus on providing durability and dependability in all of our equipment.”
STIHL Inc. manufactures the number one selling brand of gasoline-powered handheld outdoor power equipment in America, as well as the number one selling brand of chain saws in the world. STIHL products are sold through servicing power equipment retailers from coast to coast – not mass merchants. Located in Virginia Beach, Va., STIHL Inc., the headquarters for U.S. operations for the worldwide STIHL Group, exports to over 90 countries around the world; and the majority of STIHL products sold in America are also built in America.
Reach Out Worldwide is a dedicated network of professionals with first-responder skill-sets (including project management, logistics, heavy equipment operation, EMT paramedic training, firefighting, and nursing, etc). The volunteers provide their expertise, in the United States and abroad, when natural disasters strike and augment local resources with the goal of accelerating relief efforts. Our mission is to arrive as quickly as possible, ease the survivors’ pain, offer clean water, medicine and other basic necessities and bring hope in the bleakest of circumstances. Reach Out Worldwide operates on the philosophy that by making a difference in just one person’s life, the world has been changed for the better.
