About Ariens

Ariens Company History

A spark flew and a legend was born. It was 1933 and their Brillion Iron Works was gone. A business they had worked hard to build – only to close it when times got tough during the depression. Henry Ariens and his three sons, Mando, Leon and Francis, were not deterred by losing the foundry just a few years earlier. They still had plenty of inventive ideas and a simple but sturdy garage in which to turn their plans into reality.

With a $1,500 loan borrowed against Henry’s life insurance policy and another $1,500 raised by selling shares of stock to a family member, the four men got to work. In the early years, the Ariens family worked to develop the first American-made rotary tiller. At a time when other manufacturers were experimenting 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.

During the 1930s, Ariens responded to the need for greater food production with the invention and development of the multi-row Tillivator which became the first power take-off unit for tractors cultivating from 4-16 rows at a time.

It took the Ariens family many years of experimentation, education and perseverance before rotary tilling became accepted as a proven agricultural tool. By 1940, Ariens Company tillers were well established with greenhouse vegetable growers in Michigan and Ohio. The tillers ensured better soil conditions for improved plant growth and a more abundant harvest. Tillers also eliminated hand spading and the “old-fashioned” horse-and-plow operation. Many tiller models followed, all aimed at improving outputs 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.

During the 1940s, the company introduced the Aggmixer to make soil, cement and blacktop runways for secondary airports and training bases. This product helped to keep the company afloat in the early years. After the WW II, Ariens retooled its facility, increasing plant size to 6,250 sq ft.

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 products 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. Mando became President, Leon remained Vice President and Treasurer and Francis managed the Customer Service Division and would later create the Ariens service school for mechanics.

1958 was a landmark year with the introduction of the Jet Tiller and the Imperial Riding Mower. This marked a new era of residential mowing products. The imperial would be followed by the Fairway Riding Mower, the Manorway Tractor and the 21-inch Peacemaker Lawn Mower. Production of agricultural equipment and lawn and garden products continued side-by-side until 1968 when Ariens Company produced the last piece of farm equipment, the Hydro-Spacer.

The transition from agricultural equipment was marked by a leadership change for the company when Henry’s grandson, Mike Ariens, became Company President in 1969. Under his leadership, Ariens Company experienced significant growth, facility expansions and the introduction of many new lawn and garden, and outdoor power equipment products. Several acquisitions also took place including the Sperry New Holland Lawn and Garden Tractor line, Promark Company and Edko Manufacturing. The most significant of these acquisitions occurred in the early 1980s, when Ariens Company purchased Gravely Company, a North Carolina lawn and garden tractor manufacturer. Like Henry Ariens, Benjamin Franklin Gravely was an early inventor of combustion-powered garden equipment. He received his first patent for the Gravely Motor Plow in 1916 and his company was incorporated in 1922. It seemed fitting these two pioneers in the outdoor power equipment industry would someday have their companies under the same management.

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 complete. Test models were demonstrated to distributors throughout the Snow Belt with widespread approval. It was July 1960 when the company started production and 1,865 units were produced in the introductory season.

By the late 1970s, Ariens produced more than 100,000 Sno-Thro machines each season. In November 2005, the company produced its milestone 2 millionth Sno-Thro machine.

In 1998, company leadership transitioned to fourth-generation family member Dan Ariens who guided the Gravely brand to become a full-line, premium provider of commercial equipment for professional landscape contractors. Through the early years of the 2000s, Gravely expanded with many new categories of products including zero-turn, walk-behind, out-front and stand-on mowing equipment. Under Dan’s leadership the company also made a transition to dealer-direct distribution and introduced lean manufacturing principles for continuous efficiency improvement in operations. The company directly attributes its ability to remain solvent in the increasingly-competitive global marketplace to the contributions of employees using lean manufacturing practices. At the same time, Ariens Company stopped producing lawn tractors as the market for that product became saturated and trends indicated an increased interest in Zero-Turn mowers. The more maneuverable machines have since become the staple of both the Ariens consumer and Gravely commercial brands. In 2006, Ariens Company also entered the golf, turf and sports turf equipment sector with the acquisition of Locke Turf Company, a manufacturer of reel mowers and National Mower, a manufacturer of specialty mowers designed for the golf, turf, and sports turf industries. In 2007, Ariens further expanded its commercial product offering when it acquired the EverRide and Great Dane brands of zero-turn, walk-behind and stand-on mowers.

Over the course of Ariens Company’s history, many products have come and gone as markets changed and customers refined 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 defining those values that create the Ariens culture. He selected five 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 define 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 was able to sum it up with a very simple Vision Statement: Passionate People … Astounded Customers. Ariens company history courtesy of Ariens, www.ariens.com

Ariens Snowblower versus Ariens Snowthrower

What is the difference between a snowblower and a snowthrower? Thees 2 terms are often used interchangeably, and there is a theory at least concerning the meaning of these two words.

A Snowthrower, also referred to as a single stage machine. The snow is gathered by a high speed auger. When the snow reaches the centerpoint it is hurled upward by the auger and thus THROWN. There are fewer moving parts in these machines but they are all moving very fast so damage can be very sudden and severe. This design is almost always used in tractor attachments because of its shorter overall size.

A Snowblower, also called a dual stage or two stage machine. The snow is gatherd by a low speed auger and fed back to a high speed impeller that BLOWS the snow up the chute. The lower speed auger is less prone to sudden damage and is generally protected by shear pins. A worm driven auger is preferable to a chain driven one. A worm drive will have a small gearcase between the auger leads griven by a shaft coming through the center of the impeller. A snowblower is preferable under almost all conditions. Remember that you will get the greatest throwing distance when you throw to the side that continues the arc generated by the direction of impeller rotation.

The word Snowthrower has origins dating back to 1954; The Miriam Webster definition gives a direct reference to Snowblower.

The word Snowblower has origins dating back to 1950; The Miriam Webster definition: a machine for removing snow (as from a driveway or sidewalk) in which a rotating spiral blade picks up and propels the snow aside. Ariens company information and history courtesy of Ariens Co, www.ariens.com
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