Former Ariens Co. President, Chairman Michael S. Ariens, Passes

March 2 -- He managed a company through several acquisitions, hundreds of product launches and more than one economic downturn.

But if there was one thing that Michael S. Ariens got excited about, it was something like this winter's East Coast blizzards.

"Those who knew my father, knew he loved nothing more than a great big snowstorm, especially in Boston," said Dan Ariens, chairman and chief executive of Ariens Co., a Brillion manufacturer of snow throwers and other outdoor power equipment.

Michael Ariens, chairman emeritus of the company his grandfather founded in 1933, died at home Saturday. He was 83.

Michael Ariens, grandson of Henry Ariens, celebrated his 55th anniversary with the company last November. He was company president from 1969 to 1992 and was chairman from 1992 until 2014.

"Mike leaves us with a legacy of his personal leadership style, a strength of character that people who worked with him want to emulate. As a leader, he was thoughtful and insightful with a great sense of humor," Dan Ariens said.

Under Ariens' leadership, the company experienced significant growth and many changes. One of the most successful and lasting product introductions was the Sno-Thro machine in 1960.

In 1982, he led the acquisition of the Gravely product line. Also in the early 1980s, he represented the outdoor power equipment industry before the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the development of new safety standards.

It was significant that he kept Ariens Co. independent during a time when similar-size companies were being acquired by larger competitors, said Fred Stratton Jr., retired chairman and CEO of Briggs & Stratton Co. in Wauwatosa.

Stratton and his wife, Ann, spent many hours with Ariens and his wife, Mimi.

"Whenever we had an opportunity, we would hang out with them because they were a lot of fun and very nice people. Mike was a true gentleman," Stratton said.

Ariens spent part of each day thanking employees at their workstations for their years of commitment to the company. He continued that ritual through his last day on the job in late 2014.

"From my point of view, it's a requirement. You take the lives of a lot of people, we invite them into work, and they work every day. ... The least we can do is thank them for the commitment made to the company," he was quoted as saying in 2013.

He was very approachable, said Fred Moreaux, who worked with Ariens for more than 37 years and now is Ariens Co. director of product compliance and liability.

"His office door was always open. Any time you had an idea, concern or just needed advice, he was more than willing to take the time out of his busy schedule to talk with you," Moreaux said.

Ariens was one of the longest-serving board members of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, where he held various leadership positions over his career, including chairman. He also served on the boards of many businesses and civic and philanthropic organizations.

A graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Indiana University, he served in the Army Corps of Engineers. Before joining Ariens Co., he worked for the chairman of Cummins Engines.

On his 40th anniversary with Ariens Co., he was quoted as saying, "A career of 40 years doesn't pass with either a continuous flow of success or a series of failures, but rather is a variable travel of luck, vision, pain, hope and sacrifice. ... I've had a great trip."

Rick Barrett         www.jsonline.com

Ariens Buys 3 Direct Marketing Brands From W.W. Grainger

Calling it part of a strategy to offset some of the seasonality inherent in its business, Ariens Co. said Monday it is acquiring three direct marketing brands from W.W. Grainger Inc.

The brands are Gempler's, Ben Meadows and AW Direct. All three brands market outdoor-related products including landscape and horticulture equipment, gear for fighting wildfires and tow truck equipment.

The brands will become part of Brillion-based Ariens on Jan. 1. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but, "the dollars are fairly significant," said Dan Ariens, CEO of Ariens and the fourth generation of the family to lead the company. "It adds a big new revenue base to our business."

Grainger said in a statement that the three brands total had estimated revenue of $90 million in 2013.

The three brands will help smooth Arien's revenue, which is skewed heavily toward fall and winter when sales of its snow blowers spike.

"When we look at their revenues over quarters they are much more level," Ariens said.

Ariens will add 250 new employees total at an office in Madison and a distribution site in Janesville as a result of the transaction, putting its total employment at about 2,300.

The company has been seeking an acquisition as a means to diversify its portfolio of businesses, Ariens said.

"We've been looking for a couple of years to find something that fits like this," Ariens said.

Ariens operates in the outdoor power equipment manufacturing as well as distribution segments in consumer and professional markets. The company's brands include Sno-Thro snow blowers; Countax and Westwood lawn tractors; and Gravely and Parker commercial equipment for the landscape management, facilities maintenance and sports field sectors. Ariens' affiliates, Stens Corp., J Thomas and Ariens Pty Ltd. in Australia, supply replacement parts to the outdoor power equipment industry.

"As we grow the distribution side of the business, these companies represent strong niche segments that fit nicely with our current portfolio of outdoor brands," the company said in a statement.

The acquisition is "another way to talk to the same customer with a different set of products," Ariens said.

Ariens will be taking over leased space in Madison as well as leasing space in the Janesville distribution center from Grainger, said Ariens spokeswoman Ann Stilp, in an email.

Ariens will operate the acquired brands along with Stens and J. Thomas as part of a newly formed specialty brands group.

The location of the businesses Ariens is acquiring played a role in the agreement, Dan Ariens said.

"We want to invest in Wisconsin wherever we can," he added. "We see opportunity here."

Ariens was established in 1933.

W.W. Grainger Inc., is based in Lake Forest, Ill., and had 2012 sales of $9 billion. The company is a business-to-business distributor of products used to maintain, repair or operate facilities.

Joe Taschler       www.jsonline.com  

Wisconsin Manufacturers Turn to Long-Term Temporary Employees

November 14 -- More manufacturers are gearing up to hire temporary employees, sometimes for jobs lasting many months, as they need the help but are reluctant to make permanent commitments.

Thursday, Ariens Co. said it was seeking 150 employees to build snow throwers and lawn-and-garden equipment in Brillion. Also, the company says it will hire another 150 people in January and February.

Some of the jobs could be temporary, but many new hires will stay on as year-round employees, said company spokeswoman Ann Stilp.

"The bigger challenge for us sometimes is our location," she said, since Brillion isn't a big town and residents also commute to work in Manitowoc, Appleton and Green Bay.

Recently, Harley-Davidson Inc. added 100 temporary jobs at its Menomonee Falls plant as the company prepares for the production of model-year 2014 motorcycles.

Harley says the employees have been hired for the work that runs from January until June at the powertrain operations on Pilgrim Road.

The company used staffing agencies and its website to recruit people for the jobs that pay roughly $16.75 to $23.30 an hour — similar to the pay scale at the York, Pa., motorcycle assembly plant that's seeking 400 temporary employees.

This summer, Harley completed its first year of seasonal surge production in York. That effort, also taking place at the company's other plants, is aimed at producing motorcycles closer to market demand, increasing manufacturing efficiencies and saving hundreds of millions of dollars in costs.

The company's plant in Tomahawk needs 60 more seasonal employees to work 10 months starting in January, said Harley-Davidson spokeswoman Maripat Blankenheim.

Wages at the Tomahawk plant are comparable with Menomonee Falls and the other plants, she said.

Some companies, such as outdoor power equipment makers, have long used surge production and seasonal hiring to build products close to demand and not carry excess inventory.

That's the case for Kohler Co., which hires seasonal employees to build engines in advance of the lawn-and-garden equipment season. In Waukesha, Generac Power Systems has used temporary hires to fill a glut of orders for generators after major power outages.

But more manufacturers are using the hiring strategy to fill year-round jobs while avoiding long-term commitments to employees, according to staffing agencies.

"Employers, especially Milwaukee-based manufacturing companies, seem to be favoring that because they're trying to get a handle on whether their growth will be sustained. Everybody is still in limbo about this economy. That's the bottom line," said Wendy Koppel, president and owner of Division 10 Personnel/AeroStaff, a Milwaukee staffing agency.

"Five years after the recession, this is the slowest recovery I have ever seen. One way employers are responding to this tentative feeling is they're opting for more long-term temporary employees," Koppel said.

Some companies use temporary hires as a way to try people out before they offer them permanent positions. It gives them more flexibility to fire someone if the job isn't working out or the work suddenly ends.

People hired for jobs that sometimes last only a few months should take the time they're with a company and get the inside track on permanent positions, said Jim Golembeski, executive director of the Bay Area Workforce Development Board in Green Bay.

"Even if you come in as a seasonal worker, companies are looking for people who stand out," he said.

A short stint at a manufacturing plant can be a way to sharpen your workplace skills and enhance your chances at getting permanent employment.

"One of the big problems with people who are out of work for a long time is their skills atrophy. It's a reason why many employers are reluctant to hire someone who has been unemployed for a couple of years," said Hank Cox, who recently retired from the National Association of Manufacturers in Arlington, Va., and is now a freelance writer on manufacturing issues.

"There's some good in it, and people adapt. But for most people, it can't be a good feeling to know their job is only for a few months. Overall, I think it's a negative trend that I hope doesn't become too prevalent," Cox said.

Rick Barrett                www.jsonline.com

Ariens Company Closing Plant In Alabama

BRILLION, WI — June 6 -- Ariens Co. said today it will close its manufacturing plant in Opp., Ala.

The plant, which is about 80 miles south of Montgomery, Ala., employs 17 people, and will continue operating until July 26.

The company has operated the facility since 2006 when it acquired Locke Turf Co., a manufacturer of reel mowers and specialty turf equipment. It is located on the Kinston highway, and in Opp, personnel were tasked with manufacturing snow-blowing equipment, Opp Mayor John Bartholomew said.

Corporate officials said the closure was done. in an effort to consolidate manufacturing operations for improved efficiency. Production will run through July 26.

“This decision is not a reflection on the performance of the plant,” said Bob Bradford, senior vice president of operations. “I’d like to thank the employees for the remarkable improvements they made on their lean journey of continuous improvement which began the day we acquired the plant seven years ago. They would be an asset to any of our other manufacturing facilities and we have offered them the option to transfer.”

The company, which makes snow throwers and other power equipment, said employees will be provided severance packages and outplacement assistance.

Customers should not see an impact on product delivery, the company said.

www.postcrescent.com 

Ariens Has Model To Bridge Wisconsin's Skills Gap

December 12 -- Over the years, I’ve spent considerable time writing and reporting on the manufacturing skills gap. It remains a topic of concern for the industrial sector in Wisconsin as business, education and political leaders continue to work to develop solutions to a problem that stems from manufacturers struggling to fill open jobs while thousands of unemployed workers search for employment but don’t have the necessary skills to make them immediately viable candidates.

During the course of my coverage of the topic, Dan Ariens, president and chief executive officer of privately held Ariens Co., a Brillion-based outdoor power equipment manufacturer, has been held up as an example of a top-level leader who is taking noteworthy steps in dealing with the issue.

Ariens is more than willing to share the story of how his company, over the course of many years, has dealt with the situation. He will deliver the keynote address and also will take part in a break-out session at the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s Manufacturing Matters! Conference on Feb. 28 in Milwaukee.

Getting students to develop problem solving skills has been essential in the success Ariens has exhibited in attracting key talent.

“We need to educate kids on how to solve problems versus teaching them a skill. That can be done in our plant,” Ariens said.

Educational systems, from high schools to technical schools and universities, aren’t broken but are in need of greater focus, he added.

“What keeps getting missed is that local business that are connected with their high schools, technical schools or university systems need to get much more engaged in those schools and in curriculum support so that it’s hands on, minds on,” Ariens said.

Way too often, students are are delivered the message that they need to go to college so that they can avoid working in a factory, he said.

“There’s a large population that isn’t built for advanced education and who’d much rather work with their hands and solve problems in an environment like manufacturing,” said Ariens. “Teachers keep telling kids that you don’t want to get stuck in factory. We’ve got to get over that. We want them to think that this could be a great opportunity.”

Manufacturers need to go beyond addressing their immediate skills needs on the factory floor and focus more on the long term, Ariens said. Again, he stressed the need to get younger people to develop problem solving skills, which will make them more viable employees.

A key aspect in Ariens’ efforts has come through a major investment to build a technology and education center at Brillion High School. The partnership between Ariens and the school began six years ago.

“It’s not just about the infrastructure that we built, it’s about the attitude and the mindset,” Ariens said. “We really integrate with the school’s manufacturing and technology educator, who creates projects through the full term that will engage the kids.”

As part of the initiative, Ariens places its manufacturing and engineering staff into the classroom several times a year. The company also brings Brillion school students to its manufacturing plant.

“We’ll actually get them engaged in a real live product development process,” said Ariens, who has been with the company since 1983 and has served as president and CEO since 1998. “We have snow blowers on the market today that have parts designed by these high school kids. It’s sort of a live curriculum.”

Since the program began, students and parents alike have developed a more energized attitude toward manufacturing, Ariens said.

“Kids want to come work for Ariens,” he said.

Having prospective employees see the plant in operation is a huge benefit for the company, which has about 1,800 employees globally, including 850 in Brillion, Ariens added.

“If we can get them here, they know they are in a different place,” he said. “It’s very high-paced and its hard work. I don’t want to shy around that. But for people who want to come to work every day at a good company, those are the people we are able to recruit.”

Ariens wants to share his success story with other employers for the benefit of the entire industry.

“We get a lot of educators and chambers of commerce that call us, but individual businesses don’t call,” he said. “Frankly, I wish they would. I wish they would say what are you doing that we could do in Middleton or in Rhinelander. But they don’t. I think businesses assume that what we’ve done is all about the building and the money we spent to build it. It’s really not. It’s much more about the mindset and creating an environment where educators and parents understand that Ariens is a great place to work.”

www.biztimes.com

Manufacturing Rebounds in September

October 16 -- Ariens Co. in Brillion is looking for more workers to help it meet seasonal demands for snow removal equipment.

 

Diane Bluel, human resources manager at Ariens, said Monday the company has between 70 and 80 part- and full-time openings. Available jobs include low-skilled assembly positions to those requiring more skills including machinists, fabricators and welders.

“It’s for our seasonal ramp up,” Bluel said of the company’s job fair. The company, which as about 1,200 workers between its two Brillion plants, also held a job fair in the spring to fill seasonal positions at that time.

What’s happening at Ariens Co. reflects rebounding manufacturing activity nationally. The Institute for Supply Management’s September Index showed U.S. manufacturing grew for the first time in four months, buoyed by a jump in new orders and more jobs.

The increase is a hopeful sign that the economy may be improving after a weak stretch. The institute, a trade group of purchasing managers, said Monday that its index of factory activity rose to 51.5. That’s up from 49.6 in August.

The reading “will boost hopes that some of the recent slowdown in economic growth was just a summer phenomenon,” Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics, said in a note to clients.

Not all manufacturing sectors are reporting robust activity.

John Daggett, a spokesman for Oshkosh Corp., a maker of military vehicles and parent company of fire apparatus manufacturer Pierce Manufacturing, said the firm has felt the impact of government spending cuts.

“Municipal spending and tax revenues are still down,” he said. “As we all know, defense business is driven by contracts and future defense budgets are reduced.”

In the manufacturing survey, a measure of new orders jumped to 52.3, the highest reading since May. That suggests production will increase in the coming months.

And a gauge of employment rose, a sign that manufacturers may report a gain in jobs when September’s employment report is released Friday. Manufacturers shed workers in August.

Manufacturers also said they are facing rising costs for corn, fuel and several other commodities.

The improvement at U.S. factories comes even as growth is slowing overseas. Europe’s financial crisis has pushed many countries in the region into recession. Growth in emerging nations such as China and India has slowed.

China’s manufacturing sector shrank in September, according to a survey by a Chinese trade group. But its measure of factory activity rose for the first time in four months, to 49.8, from 49.2.

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.3 percent in the April-June quarter, down from a 2 percent growth rate in the January-March quarter.

 www.postcrescent.com

Lawns, The Quiet Victims of Recession

August 2 -- Cautious consumers often look for places to cut, but one quiet victim of the recession has the opposite problem. Even amid recovery, lawns are often left untended.

“I just thought my money was being wasted,” said Dave Pilon, 42, director of sales at Bouvier Insurance in Connecticut. Mr. Pilon estimated he could save about $300 a year doing lawn treatments himself after he wasn’t impressed by professional services.

“My lawn absolutely ended up becoming a disaster,” he said, describing a yard taken over by crab grass in the past year. Mr. Pilon is signing a contract with another company for lawn seeding and maintenance, but will continue to mow his lawn as he has always done.

Landscapers like K and H Lawn Services said that since the recession, customers have been more conscious about cost and ask more frequently for quotes. Basic mowing for a 3,000 square-foot yard starts at $900 annually, according to Kris Hjort, K and H chief executive officer, but services like fertilizer applications cost extra.

The Virginia-based company maintains 600 residences weekly in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and has grown from 30 staff members in 2010 to 40. Starting last year, business finally started picking up with 7% to 8% growth in services, said Mr. Hjort. “People are coming back to professional lawn services and spending more money,” he said.

Tanya Ash, 46, a homeowner in Dublin, Ohio, switched to professional care two years ago after she decided her time was better spent working as an interior designer instead of mowing, but continued pruning on her own to save money.

“Quite honestly I thought was doing a great job doing it myself until the tree came down,” said Ms. Ash, who lost one of several trees on her quarter-acre yard after a recent storm. Ms. Ash spends $30 a week for mowing, but recently paid $1,000 for tree and shrub maintenance.

Stihl Inc., which manufactures power equipment including grass and hedge trimmers, has benefited from an expanding do-it-yourself crowd looking to take on smaller jobs like pruning and trimming. The company is on track for its third consecutive year of record turf-related sales since 2009. Roger Phelps, Stihl promotional communications manager, said homeowners are spending as much as 550 for professional trimmers instead of cheaper, consumer models.

Homeowners view professional equipment as investments they can pay off after a year or so of use, said Daniel Ariens, president and chief executive officer of Ariens Co., which produces mowers and snow blowers. During the recession, consumer sales jumped with homeowners opting for commercial mowers which cost $4,000 to $10,000 compared to consumer riding models that start at $1,000.

Ariens’ consumer demand has since grown at a slower pace, but commercial sales have continued rising, up 25% this year. “Consumers are slowly coming back to hiring landscape contractors,” said Mr. Ariens.

Landscapers, however, are cautious to reinvest as customers trickle back — repairing existing equipment and holding back on new orders, or purchasing cheaper models than in years past, he said. Ariens’ spare parts business has continued to grow since the recession.

In 2008, Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. saw business for its lawn service dip along with the economy. “As the economy has improved, our lawn service business has improved along with it,” said Jim King, vice president of corporate affairs at Scotts. Homeowners can apply the company’s lawn products themselves or hire Scott’s service, which costs three to four times more and has made modest gains in the last two years with more repeat customers.

Mr. King said Scotts has also remarketed its do-it-yourself fertilizer to reflect homeowners who no longer want “extra-perfect” lawns, but turf that’s “good enough.” Sales of the fertilizer have begun to rebound after years of decline.

“It doesn’t have to be the emerald-green envy of the neighborhood,” he said.

http://www.blogs.wsj.com/economics

Manufacturing Slows Amid Political Uncertainties

MILWAUKEE – July 31 -- Manufacturing in southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois shrank in July for the first time in three years, with orders from the United States, Europe and China dropping as business seems almost paralyzed until the fall election is over and economic policies are addressed.

That's according to data from a monthly survey of manufacturers released Tuesday by Marquette University and the local chapter of the Institute for Supply Management.

The survey's index measuring industrial health was 46.7, much lower than June's 60.2. A reading above 50 indicates growth, while a reading below 50 indicates declining conditions.

It was the first time the area's seasonally adjusted in dex fell below 50 since July 2009.

"We are distracted by a very uncertain political environment," said Doug Fisher, director of the Center for Supply Chain Management in Marquette University's College of Business Administration. "Whether it's health care or tax law, people just don't know what to expect."

Wisconsin factories are vulnerable to economic shocks from the rest of the nation and overseas. Higher energy prices also produce an "automatic drag" on the economy, said Nick Hayes, a partner with FiveTwelve Group Ltd., a business research and consulting firm in Milwaukee.

U.S. manufacturing shrank in June for the first time in nearly three years, adding to signs that economic growth is weakening amid the recession in Europe and a slowdown in Asia.

"My clients are saying June was still acceptable, but things started slowing in July," Hayes said.

The recovery from the recession has come in fits and starts, and one month's survey data should not be taken out of context. But two more months of low numbers would be worrisome, according to Fisher.
This should be a busy time of the year at The Wagner Cos., a Milwaukee manufacturer of hand railings, light fixtures and other items used in commercial buildings and new-home construction.

But the company has not fully recovered from the recession, and it could be another five years before some of the business returns to normal, said CEO Robert Wagner.

"We were very concerned because early in (July) there was a considerable slowdown in orders. But toward the end of the month, there was a little uptick," Wagner said.

Twin Disc Inc., a Racine-based maker of power transmission equipment used in the petroleum and marine industries, on Tuesday said its recent quarterly income plunged 87% to $1 million, or 9 cents a share, from $7.59 million, or 66 cents a share, a year earlier.

The company blamed some of the poor results on softening demand for its oil-field products and weakness in its Italian mega-yacht business.

"The slowdown in the North American oil and gas markets will impact sales and profitability, and we remain cautiously optimistic about the outlook for fiscal 2013," Chairman and CEO Michael Batten said in a news release.

In the Marquette University data, a measurement of new orders at area manufacturers was 41 in July, down from 55.8 in June, while the employment index was 51.3, down from 73.8 in June.

Fisher said he was disappointed with the results but not surprised, as similar national figures fell in June.
"We are all in the same ocean together," he said. "Companies want to know more if they're going to make investments."

Not everyone has felt the downturn, including Waukesha Foundry, which makes custom castings for highly specialized items, sometimes one at a time.

Locally owned by Facilitator Capital Fund, the foundry generated $30 million in sales in 2011, up about 15% from the year before. Sales goals are $35 million in 2012 and $50 million in 2014.

The foundry has made metal-cast parts for Harley-Davidson Inc., Mercury Marine, AB Volvo, Rockwell Automation Inc., Oshkosh Corp., Navistar, Caterpillar Inc., Deere & Co. and many others.

"Our order backlog is at its highest level ever. If anything, we are having a little trouble getting some orders out the door," said Waukesha Foundry President and CEO Ken Kurek.

Still, economic uncertainty - and in some cases the drought - have taken a toll on manufacturers of many items including outdoor power products made in Wisconsin.

"We have seen dealers in our industry close their doors as a result of the dry weather," said Dan Ariens, president of Ariens Co., a Brillion-based maker of outdoor power equipment.

Ariens Co. felt the downturn in May and June after a good start to the year earlier in the spring.

"It was consumer caution and the weather. I think we are in a time when everyone wants to pause and see what's going to happen," Dan Ariens said.

Rick Barrett     www.jsonline.com

As Winter Approaches, Demand for Snow Blowers Exceeds Projections

Dan Ariens is president and CEO of Ariens Co., an outdoor power equipment manufacturer founded by his grandfather and great-grandfather in 1932, originally making tillers for the agricultural market.

He joined the family business in 1983, starting in the marketing department, and for the next 14 years worked in nearly every facet of the company, including sales, engineering and manufacturing.

In 1998 he became president and chief executive officer.

A proponent of lean manufacturing principles, Ariens has been a recipient of the Eli Whitney Productivity Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. He is frequently tapped as a mentor by organizations promoting lean leadership.

Since 2000, Ariens has been a board member of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, including a term as chairman.

He is heavily involved in the Wisconsin business community, serving on several boards for educational groups, companies, and economic development organizations including the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.

He is also on the executive committee of the Green Bay Packers board of directors.

Privately held Ariens Co. does not release sales figures but said it's one of the market-share leaders in two-stage snow throwers and is a smaller player in the lawn and garden equipment business with larger competitors such as Toro and John Deere.

In an interview, Dan Ariens talks about the outdoor power equipment industry, the economy, manufacturing and employment.

Here are excerpts from that interview:

Q. As we head into winter, what are your thoughts about the health of the outdoor power equipment industry and snow removal products?

A. In a word right now, it's panic in terms of demand. It is exceeding all of our projections and is exceeding just about everyone's estimate for what we thought would be a strong preseason. We are struggling to build enough product right now as fast as it's being consumed. We are setting production records daily, and we still are not getting enough out.

In the last couple of winters, the seasons were strong enough and long enough where most manufacturers ran out of product. So when someone can't get a snowblower when they want one in January or February, they aren't going to miss next year and will start buying in June and July.

Q. Overall, how do you feel about consumer confidence?

A. We actually think consumers are more confident than the numbers show. We had a very strong summer and fall for lawn mowers and lawn equipment, and we are having a very strong fall for snow equipment.

I think consumers are in two camps. They are not very confident about the direction of the country, and that's related to policies and taxes and regulations, but in their own case I think they are feeling that, if they've survived the downturn and haven't lost their job, they are OK.

Q. Ariens products cost more than some others that don't last as long. How do you get people away from the disposable products mentality?

A. Our brand promise has been about products that last a long time. We have snowblowers that are still performing 25 years later. We have a lot of product that was built in the 1960s and is still running. We still design our products so they are repairable.

But Americans want American quality at Chinese prices. That's just the nature of free enterprise, to pay only as much as you have to but wanting the most value for the dollar.

Q. Your products are made in the United States. Why not Mexico or China?

A. I am a pound-the-fist-on-the-table kind of guy who says we won't do that. It goes back to the early 2000s, when this business was in tough shape. We needed our folks here to get engaged in making this a better business. I couldn't do it on my own.

So I made a commitment in 1998 that we were not going to take jobs away if we made productivity improvements. We redeployed, cross-trained and became a smarter manufacturer, but we did not run to China.

We have brought work back from China. In 2000, we were buying things there that we now make in our plant, such as components, shafts and castings.

Q. How do you compete with much bigger companies, such as Honda?

A. We can look at Honda, John Deere, Toro, Briggs & Stratton, all of the big companies. But if we spend our time worrying about that, we aren't going to focus on where we need to make improvements.

We are up against big companies. There are some in China that are out to eat our lunch. I always tell people here: 'They want your job and they want my job. They want to be us.'

But our business is something like a professional sports team. Right now the Packers are on top, so everybody wants to beat them. But the Packers can't look at everybody else. They have to look at themselves and say what mistakes did they make last week and what do they have to improve on when they practice this week.

Q. How troubling is the European economy for Ariens?

A. It's a concern, but in our product category the Europeans are very particular about what they buy. They are very thoughtful consumers.

While an American consumer may choose disposable products, it's absolutely not that way in Europe.

And the European economy is something like the United States in that some states are doing better than others. I had an economist tell me he doesn't think anything major will happen in the European Union until 2013, when a treaty among euro trading partners expires. It calls for the developed countries, such as France and Germany, to subsidize or support the euro. In accordance with the treaty, they are bound to support it until 2013.

Q. Does weather trump the economy in U.S. snow removal equipment sales?

A. For us, the outdoor power equipment industry, the economy really started to fall in 2006 and 2007. What was happening then was consumers had overspent their ability in buying homes, and they weren't putting anything in the garage or the living room. There wasn't any furniture in the house, but they had the big house.

In 2006 and 2007, definitely the economy trumped the weather because we had heavy snow in the Midwest but we didn't have a great year in snow equipment sales.

We started to see a rebound in late 2008. Today I think we are through the malaise, and I would say we are back to the weather trumping the economy in snow equipment sales.

Q. How do you find the employees you need in a rural area surrounded by some big manufacturers, such as Oshkosh Corp. and Manitowoc Cos.?

A. We want to be the No. 1 employer wherever we have a location. So I like to think we have been promoting this idea around the Fox Valley that Ariens is a great place to work.

We do a lot of things, but it starts with saying 'let's have a good attitude.' We expect people to become engaged in this business.

I don't care if you come here to clean bathrooms or to be the next CEO. This has to be a place you really like coming to. It has to be safe, clean and a place that challenges your intellectual curiosity.

Q. What are some things you do to develop talent?

A. We have to develop everyone at every level. If you are an assembler, we want you to grow into becoming the next assembly leader.

We have a lead intern system, where we take someone off the production line and put them through our own classes to get them involved in leadership. They volunteer, and we take about six people a year. We have had managers, assemblers, welders, punch-press operators in the program. In six months we put them through classes, getting them involved in leadership, and hopefully they will be the next leaders in our company.

And in Brillion, the high school is working out fantastic with interns in engineering. We have sent a lot of these kids off to engineering colleges. The hope is that some of them will come back to work here someday.

We have had students in their junior and senior years in high school actually design some parts that are on one of our products. We have an engineer that oversees the work, and the students take it to the lab, where they make a prototype. Then we help them test it and put it into production. So the students go through a whole product development cycle.

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