Ariens

Ariens is a Wisconsin-based lawn and garden product firm which was founded in 1933 with a single $1,500 loan. Instrumental in building and marketing one of American’s earliest rotary tillers with an air-cooled engine, the company has expanded enormously since its relatively modest beginnings. The last days of the Second World War witnessed the receipt of a lucrative emergency contract for equipment, which provided the capital for more peaceful enterprises once the conflict ended. Riding mowers and other residential garden tools were introduced in the 1950s, and 1960 saw the creation of the Sno-Thro, which, while by no means the first snowblower, proved very popular. Since then, the company has expanded multiple times and bolstered its product line further by purchasing other businesses.

Ariens’ most popular items continue to be Sno-Thro snowblowers, though these are now far more advanced than their cousins of the 1960s. The AMP 24 Sno-Thro was an important innovation in 2010, the world’s first two-stage snow-thrower with an electric power source, and there are numerous gas models which can handle snow of 9″, 12″, 16″, or deeper snowfall depending on design. Modern models come with such luxurious optional additions as headlamps for safe nighttime snow removal, built-in hand warmers, and auto-turn for agile maneuvering regardless of the blower’s weight, among other features. Production of Sno-Thros surpassed the 2 million mark in 2005. The firm has won the 2013 Manufacturing Award of Distinction from the Green Bay, Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce.

Ariens products, colored with the famous “Ariens Orange” tint, include many other useful items besides snow removal gear. Residential mowers include walk-behind types, zero-turn mowers, and lawn tractors. The firm also makes tough, powerful commercial mowers, including special sports turf maintenance types and stand-on mowers, among others. The company likewise makes a line of advanced modern “chore equipment,” which consists of dethatchers, litter vacuums, log splitters, trimmers, edgers, lawn sweepers, and other similar devices.