On 1st February 1920 a young man gained his independence by founding a small business repairing electric motors in Spaldingstrasse, Hamburg. Hans Still was then a young man of only 22, and full of energy. Everything had to happen quickly – especially for his customers.
He offered “speedy assistance,” reliability and quality. Success was not long in coming. The rise was breathtaking. As well as the repair of electric motors, in 1920 he was also developing his own products. The “Matador” lighting station was the first, soon followed by small portable generators (1924).
In addition the product range on offer was rounded off by a commercial range of generating machines. The speed with which the young company grew is clear from the rising number of employees. At the beginning Hans Still only had two employees, an armature winder and a fitter. These three pioneers soon needed reinforcements. Each year extra workers were taken on. As early as 1924 the work force had grown to 20 employees; by 1937 it was over 500 and only two years later, over 1000. Today STILL employs over 6000 people world-wide..
It didn't take long for the business to outgrow its premises. In 1927 the STILL company moved to larger premises at nearby Wendenstrasse, but they were not able to stay there long either. The growth continued and very soon the capacity was once again exhausted. Hans STILL had to look round for a location which offered room for future expansion. In 1932 it was found: the site between the Liebigstrasse and the parallel Berzeliusstrasse in the Hamburg district of Billbrook. The STILL head office is still there even today.
Until his tragic death in 1952 (he died together with his wife in a car accident) Hans Still was at the helm of the business. His lasting legacy is the STILL company, continuing to operate upon his principles which he once described as:
"The standard of work, the economic viability of the products, painstaking manufacturing and total service coverage are the solid basis for STILL quality".
STILL remains true to these principles.
