!! Ariens Company History
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Changing the Landscape for Growers
Ariens Company began in 1933 when Henry Ariens and his three
sons – Steve, Leon and Francis – worked to develop the rst Ameri-
can-made rotary tiller. At a time when other manufacturers were ex-
perimenting with imported tillers, Ariens Company was conducting
educational programs to teach commercial growers, nurserymen
and landscapers how the new Ariens Model A Tiller, powered with
an air-cooled engine, “plows as it discs as it harrows.”
It took the Ariens family many years of experimentation, education
and perseverance before rotary tilling became accepted as a proven
agricultural tool. Many commercial tiller models followed, all aimed
at improving output for vegetable growers around the country.
Ariens Company introduced the more compact Model B Tiller, the
Roller-Tiller, the Multi-Tiller Tractor Tiller, the Jitterbug single-row
front rotary tiller and the Tillivator RC for celery growers in Florida.
By 1940, Ariens Company tillers were well established with green-
house vegetable growers in Michigan and Ohio. The tillers en-
sured better soil conditions for improved plant growth and more
abundant harvests. Tillers also eliminated hand spading and the
“old-fashioned” horse-and-plow operation.
During the 1940s, the company introduced the Aggmixer to make
soil, cement and blacktop runways for secondary airports and
military training bases. This product, along with military contracts
for the U.S. Navy, Army and Air Force, helped maintain the company
through the war years. In 1943, Ariens Company received the U.S.
Army Ordinance Award for making 300 75-millimeter shell bug-
gies on short notice. After World War II, Ariens retooled its facility,
increasing plant size to 6,250 sq ft.
In the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, Ariens responded to the need for
greater food production with the invention and development of
the multi-row Tillivator, a power take-o unit for tractors cultivating
from four to sixteen rows at a time.
Post-War Residential Boom
The Gardeneer Tiller, introduced in 1950, included a rotary tiller,
sickle bar and 25” lawn mower. The Yardster, introduced in 1952,
included a Sno-Thro® attachment. In retrospect, both of these prod-
ucts would provide a glimpse into the company that would later
take shape.
When Henry Ariens died in 1956, his three sons kept his legacy
alive. Steve was President & Sales Manager of the company, Leon
remained Vice President & Treasurer and Francis managed the
factory and Customer Service Division. He would later create the
Ariens service school for lawn and garden dealers and their service
technicians.
1958 was a landmark year for new products with the introduction
of the Jet Tiller and the Imperial Riding Mower. This marked a new
era of residential mowing products for the company. The Imperial
would be followed by the Fairway Riding Mower, the Manorway
Tractor and the 21-inch Peacemaker Lawn Mower. The Rocket Tiller
and Sno-Thro® were introduced in 1960, also targeting consumers.
Production of commercial agricultural equipment had dwindled by
the late 1950s and in 1968, Ariens Company produced the last piece
of farm equipment, the Hydro-Spacer.
No Business Like Snow Business
Ariens Company has branched into many product development
projects over the course of its history. One of the most enduring
and successful products has been the Ariens Sno-Thro®.
Ariens Company entered the snow thrower market at the urging
of an Ariens distributor in the Northeast who wanted a two-stage
snow thrower for home snow removal. Product design began
on December 15, 1959, and by March of 1960, a prototype was
completed. Test models were demonstrated to three distributors in
the Snow Belt with widespread approval. It was July 1960 when the
company started production and 1,856 units were produced in the
introductory season.
By the late 1970s, Ariens reached annual production as high as
100,000 machines. In November 2005, the company produced its
milestone 2 millionth Sno-Thro® machine. Today, Ariens Sno-Thro is
the leading snowthrower brand worldwide with distribution in the
US, Canada and Europe. The company continues to introduce new
models including the rst all-electric Amp™ snowthrower launched
in 2011.
Acquisitions for the Future
Steve Ariens led the company until 1969 when his son, Michael
Ariens, became Company President. Under Mike’s leadership, Ariens
Company experienced signicant growth, facility expansions and
the introduction of many new lawn & garden and outdoor power
equipment products. He also initiated several acquisitions including
the Sperry New Holland Lawn and Garden Tractor line, Edko Manu-
facturing and Promark Company.
The most signicant of these manufacturer acquisitions occurred
in 1982, when Ariens Company purchased Gravely Company, a
www.ariensco.com
Company History
Company History (con’t)
North Carolina lawn and garden tractor manufacturer. Like Henry
Ariens, Benjamin Franklin Gravely was an early inventor of combus-
tion-powered garden equipment. He received his rst patent for
the Gravely Motor Plow in 1916 and his company was incorporated
in 1922. It seemed tting these two pioneers in the outdoor power
equipment industry would someday have their companies under
the same management.
In 1995, Ariens acquired Stens Corporation, an aftermarket parts
supplier. This marked a new type of growth opportunity for Ariens.
The company had always supplied parts for its own brands of
equipment, but the Stens acquisition allowed Ariens to supply
replacement parts to dealers for hundreds of dierent brands that
make up the outdoor power equipment market.
As part of Ariens Company, the Stens catalog has grown to feature
products that t over 20,000 applications. Through the years, Stens
has created a distribution network of warehouses and distributors
to enable it to provide next-day service to more than 90 percent of
the U.S. In 2007, Stens acquired the Bynorm group of companies,
one of Australia’s largest distributors of replacement parts for the
outdoor power equipment industry in that country.
Repositioning and Growth
In 1998, company leadership transitioned to fourth-generation
family member Dan Ariens who led the transition of Gravely® into
a full-line, premium commercial brand of equipment for profes-
sional landscape contractors over the course of the next ten years.
Through the mid-2000s, Gravely expanded with many new products
in several categories including zero-turn, walk-behind, out-front
and stand-on mowing equipment. The introduction of the Pro-
Turn™ series of mowers in 2010 marked a milestone for Gravely in
the commercial market. Gravely remains dealer-exclusive brand in
order to provide the expert product support required by commer-
cial landscape contractors, government purchasers and sports eld
maintenance personnel.
Under Dan’s leadership, the company also made a transition to deal-
er-direct distribution and introduced Lean manufacturing principles
for continuous eciency improvement in operations. The company
directly attributes its ability to remain solvent in the increasing-
ly-competitive global marketplace to the contributions of employ-
ees using lean practices. A strong proponent of Lean manufacturing
principles, he created a culture of continuous improvement that
has resulted in the creation of world-class manufacturing facilities
by Lean standards. He was recognized in 2007 with the Eli Whitney
Productivity Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers
(SME) and, along with other Ariens employees, is frequently tapped
as a mentor by organizations promoting Lean leadership.
From 2006 through 2010 the company made several acquisitions
including Locke Turf Company, National Mower, Kee Mower and
Parker products for debris maintenance. In 2007, Ariens Company
expanded its manufacturing capacity when it acquired the assets
of the former Auburn Consolidated, Inc. (ACI) of Auburn, Neb., Key
products and product features from ACI’s EverRide and Great Dane
brands were incorporated into the Gravely line of commercial mow-
ing products. In 2010 Ariens Company acquired Countax Ltd. a ride-
on mower manufacturer based in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. This
acquisition provided a manufacturing footprint for the company
closer to European snow product customers. Another acquisition of
Norwegian power equipment distributor, Søvde, helped the compa-
ny expand further into the Scandinavian market.
The many acquisitions during this timeframe allowed the company
to oer a new line up of products in the Chore Category to compli-
ment mowing and snow removal in all customer channels. Ariens
also consolidated existing products with newly-acquired products
in order to focus and build its core brands: Ariens®, Gravely®, Parker®
and Countax®.
Over the same timeframe, the company completed facility upgrades
and expansions at both Brillion, Wis. plants and the Stens headquar-
ters in Jasper, Ind. to accommodate sales growth and expansion of
new products. In 2007, the Ariens Foundation also provided funding
for the Ariens Technology & Engineering Education Canter at Brillion
High School. The facility has become a national model for Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education as well
as a model for business-education partnerships.
Core Values and Company Vision
Over the course of Ariens Company’s history, many products have
come and gone as markets changed and customers rened their
needs. But Ariens continues to manufacture products with the same
drive for durability that was evident back in Henry Ariens’ garage.
Core American values have guided Ariens Company and the Ariens
family throughout its history. In 1998, Dan Ariens took on the task of
dening those values that create the Ariens culture. He selected ve
Company Core Values: Be Honest, Be Fair, Keep Our Commitments,
Respect the Individual and Encourage Intellectual Curiosity. These
are the values that inspired Henry Ariens and his sons in the early
years and will continue to dene the Ariens culture in the future.
Finally, he considered what the Ariens heritage really means for
those employees who work at the company and the customers
who purchase Ariens products. Ultimately, he summed it up
with a very simple Vision Statement: Passionate People …
Astounded Customers.
