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

Polaris Announces Strategic Partnership With Ariens Company

MINNEAPOLIS -- December 18 -- Polaris Industries Inc. today announced a strategic partnership with Ariens Company, a Brillion, Wis.-based manufacturer of outdoor power equipment. Ariens is a family-owned manufacturer of snow blowers, lawnmowers and other outdoor power equipment. In the 80 years since its founding, Ariens has driven exceptional growth across its product lines, sold under Ariens, Gravely, and other brands. Both companies will benefit from this arrangement, growing through exposure to adjacent markets while fostering innovation through shared technology and R&D investments.

"By partnering with Ariens, we bring together two leading and highly-respected companies that are well-positioned for growth," said Scott Wine, Polaris Chairman and CEO. "This partnership will enable Polaris to grow beyond our core power sports market, as we will reach new customers with innovative, relevant new products. We are looking forward to working with Ariens for many years to come."

The partnership includes supplying Ariens with a highly differentiated work vehicle. Branded Gravely, the vehicle will have different performance and styling characteristics to meet the requirements of Gravely's work-focused end users. And with both Polaris and Ariens investing in research and development of new technology, this partnership enables the companies to leverage information, technology and R&D investments, making innovation more efficient.

Additionally, it provides both companies access to expanded dealer channel opportunities. The two company's service complementary customer bases through well-developed dealer networks, and this partnership will create new sales opportunities for select dealerships in both networks.

"This partnership will create an even stronger dealer network by bringing together the related categories of outdoor power sports and outdoor power equipment. Dealers for the two companies share a lot of commonality including the understanding of how to serve and service the customers in this outdoor space," said Dan Ariens, Ariens Company President and CEO. "With Polaris' position as the global power sports leader, we are looking forward to collaborating on projects that drive results for both companies."

Beyond market leadership, Polaris and Ariens also share similarities in their business cultures. Both have long histories rooted in the Midwest and have grown significantly with a disciplined focus on lean manufacturing processes, innovative products and passionate employees.

Polaris has successfully executed similar partnerships in the past, notably its ongoing partnership with Bobcat Company and Eicher Motors in India.

About Polaris

Polaris is a recognized leader in the power sports industry with annual 2012 sales of $3.2 billion. Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets innovative, high quality off-road vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER(R) and RZR(R) side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles and small vehicles.

Polaris is among the global sales leaders for both snowmobiles and off-road vehicles and has established a presence in the heavyweight cruiser and touring motorcycle market with the Victory and Indian motorcycle brands. Additionally, Polaris continues to invest in the global on-road small vehicle industry with Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), Goupil Industrie SA, Aixam Mega S.A.S., and internally developed vehicles. Polaris enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Polaris and KLIM branded apparel and Polaris accessories and parts.

Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "PII", and the Company is included in the S&P Mid-Cap 400 stock price index.

Information about the complete line of Polaris products, apparel and vehicle accessories are available from authorized Polaris dealers or anytime at www.polaris.com.

About Ariens Company

Established in 1933 in Brillion, Wis., Ariens Company is an outdoor power equipment manufacturing and distribution company serving consumer and professional markets. The company's premium international equipment brands include Ariens Sno-Thro(R) and Ariens lawn and garden products for consumers; Countax(R) and Westwood(R) lawn tractors; and Gravely(R) and Parker(R) commercial equipment for the landscape management, facilities maintenance and sports field sectors. Ariens' affiliates, Stens Corporation, J Thomas and Ariens Pty Ltd. (Australia), supply replacement parts to the outdoor power equipment industry. The company has operations in Wisconsin, Nebraska, Indiana, Michigan, the United Kingdom, Norway and Australia. Visit http://www.ariensco.com for more information.

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  

Teske Re-Elected Chairman, Dan Ariens as Vice-Chair of Wisconsin Business Group

Briggs and Stratton Corp. chairman, president and chief executive officer Todd Teske was re-elected chairman of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state’s chamber of commerce and largest business association, in a vote of the WMC Board today.

Daniel Ariens, president and CEO of Ariens Company, was re-elected vice chair at the WMC annual board meeting at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee.

“Wisconsin has made great strides in the past two years improving our business climate, but we can do even more,” said WMC president and CEO Kurt Bauer. “We have a real opportunity to build on our successes and get into the Top 10 pro-business states in the nation.”

WMC will continue to pursue a broad public policy agenda aimed at cutting taxes, reforming regulation relief, lawsuit reform, workforce development and infrastructure improvements, Bauer said.

In addition, Tod Linstroth, senior partner and  member of the management committee at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, was re-elected secretary of the WMC, and Timothy Christen, CEO of  Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP, was re-elected treasurer.

Others elected or re-elected to WMC’s board included: Randal Baker, P and H Mining Equipment Inc.; Robert Keller, J.J. Keller & Associates Inc.; Patrick McConnell, Flash, Inc.; James McIntyre, Greenheck Fan Corp.; Scott Mayer, QPS Employment Group; Gina Peter, Wells Fargo Bank Wisconsin; Karl Schmidt, Belmark Inc.; Kristine Seymour, Humana Inc.; Karen Szyman, The Chamber of Manitowoc County; S. Mark Tyler, OEM Fabricators; and David Yanda, Lakeside Foods, Inc.

www.biztimes.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 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.

www.jsonline.com        

Repair Help-Lines Are Important To Customer Service

October 21 -- These days, Americans are more inclined to patch up household products like vacuum cleaners, blenders and mowers rather than junking them.

This wave of frugality is increasing call volume to customer help lines, prompting some companies to boost their call-center staffing and offer more online tutorials on fixing and maintaining household machinery.

Kathleen Jones, a retired accountant in Wenonah, N.J., was one of the thousands of people who recently called the Glenwillow, Ohio, office of Techtronic Industries Co., the Hong Kong-based maker of Hoover and Dirt Devil vacuum cleaners. Ms. Jones was tempted to replace her 20-year-old vacuum after the old floor-brush attachment broke. But she found it would cost at least $300 for a similar new model. Instead, she ordered a replacement brush for $15.47.

"If I get another couple years out of it, that's pretty good," Ms. Jones says.

In many cases, "if you call us, we can fix it with you over the phone," says Dan Gregory, president of Techtronic's floor-care business in the Americas. Techtronic has seen about a 20% increase in U.S. help-line call volume each of the past two years. To handle more than 2,000 calls a day, the staff at the Ohio call center has almost tripled over the past two years to 65. The company also puts how-to-repair videos on its websites.

For both financial and marketing reasons, Techtronic wants customers to call when vacuums break down. To encourage them, it has begun putting a sticker on each product with the call-center phone number. "At that moment of frustration, it's right then that you either lose a customer or keep a customer," says Mr. Gregory.

Handy Help

Before undertaking a repair, consult the owner's manual. Consumers who are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with electric appliances or gas-powered engines should consider a professional repair service. Here is a sampling of useful phone numbers and websites:

Another risk: A customer who can't find a quick fix may return the vacuum to the store that sold it. The store may then give the customer a new machine, even if the old one wasn't really defective. Techtronic picks up the tab.

Other companies also report more interest in repairs. Briggs and Stratton Corp., which makes lawn mowers, pressure washers and back-up electricity generators, says do-it-yourself-repair calls and emails are the fastest-growing category at its "answer center." Overall call volume is up more than 60% from the level before the 2008-09 recession and totals several thousand per day during the peak summer season, says Dan Benischek, director of the call center. The number of call-center employees has risen to more than 60 in peak periods from 40 before the recession.

At Ariens Co., a maker of lawn mowers and blowers, sales of replacement parts now run at 12% to 13% of overall sales, up from 9% to 10% a few years ago. "Definitely consumers are extending the life cycle of products," says Daniel Ariens, president of the family owned company in Brillion, Wis. He has expanded his telephone tech-support team to nine people from five and persuaded three Ariens retirees to take calls at home during snowstorms, when lots of customers call in with blower problems.

At Techtronic's Ohio call center, employees deal with all kinds of cleaning crises.

"Hello, this is Heidi," Heidi Barchalk, a senior Techtronic help-line staffer, said on a recent afternoon as she picked up a call. Vivek Malik, the owner of four cellphone stores in southeastern Massachusetts, was having trouble with the Hoover Whisper Cyclonic vacuum used to clean one of the stores. A new belt hadn't done the trick.

After Ms. Barchalk prescribed a new part for the brush roller, Mr. Malik argued that Hoover should provide that for free because the vacuum was less than a year old. Ms. Barchalk said the warranty covered only residential use. Sturdier commercial vacuums should be used in stores, she advised.

"I can't believe this!" Mr. Malik barked. Ms. Barchalk offered to give him a 30% discount on the part, bringing the cost to $14.55 plus tax, and to rush the shipment.

Mr. Malik finally agreed. "We've already not vacuumed for three days, and the place is a disaster," he said. A week later, Mr. Malik said the Hoover worked with the new part, "so it's a happy ending."

Hundreds of vacuums line the aisles of the call center so employees can grab the relevant model if needed to explain something to a customer.

Sometimes it's only a matter of pushing a reset button, replacing a broken belt or cleaning a filter clogged by pet hair.

Another caller reported that her Hoover lacked suction. Ms. Barchalk asked the caller to remove the hose, hold it perpendicular to the ground and try dropping a quarter into the top end. The caller complied.

"Did it come out the other end?"

"No."

"That indicates the hose is clogged up," Ms. Barchalk said. She told the customer to use a broom handle to nudge debris out of the hose. After she hung up, Ms. Barchalk said, "We get that a lot."

Some vacuum crises are more difficult to resolve. The tough ones are escalated to a supervisor. If that doesn't suffice, the caller is referred to a local authorized repair shop. They don't offer advice on engine repairs, because that work is considered too dangerous for amateurs.

One woman called Techtronic to say her vacuum was "possessed," says Lisa Thomas, who manages the call center. Another had accidentally vacuumed up a beehive. "They were asking how to get the bees out," Ms. Thomas says. "We basically said, 'very carefully.' "

www.wsjonline.com