Ariens
| Founded | 1933 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Brillion, Wisconsin, US |
| Products | Professional and residential lawn care and snow removal equipment |
| Website | www.ariens.com |
Ariens Company is a Brillion, Wisconsin-based equipment company which has a long history manufacturing snow blowers and lawn tractors for commercial and high-end consumer markets. Ariens touts itself as being the "mower of the White House lawn," "official snow blower of Lambeau Field," and the "King of Snow".
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 1960, a prototype was complete. Test models were demonstrated to distributors throughout the Snowbelt. The company started production in July 1960, producing 1,865 units in the introductory season. These first units had issues with their drive systems and had to be replaced with a friction drive system, which is still in use today. The recall put great financial hardship on the company that year, but Ariens survived.
Early Ariens units used a heavy gauge steel blower and rake (auger) design.
Tecumseh engines were used on 95% of Ariens machines from 1960 to 2009. A small percentage used Briggs & Stratton engines and others. In December 2008, Tecumseh began winding down production, and the 2009 model year was the last to receive Tecumseh engines. In 2010 Briggs & Stratton became the main supplier of engines for Ariens machines. A few years later, Liquid Combustion Technology of South Carolina (LCT) purchased the rights to the Tecumseh name and tooling and resumed building engines for snow machines. Base model machines were equipped with LCT engines and more advanced machines were powered by Briggs & Stratton. As of 2016, Ariens Sno-Thro machines are built in the U.S.A., but all engines powering the machines are made in China. An electronic fuel injection engine was introduced for the 2017 model year.
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 2012 Ariens produced its 3 millionth Sno-Thro and held a public celebration.
Ariens lawn tractors are generally characterized by independent left and right wheel drives. Ariens released an electric lawn mower in April 2009 through its dealer network and at Home Depot. The mower runs for 75 minutes on a single charge.
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