In an ongoing effort to improve production efficiency, Ariens Company announced that it will make a $6.5 million capital investment aimed at reducing delivery lead times for the company’s walk-behind power equipment products, including Sno-Thro machines. The new production cells are scheduled to be operational for the 2006-07 Sno-Thro production season, which will begin in May 2006.

“This investment will allow us to take on the challenges of worldwide sources of supply. It will allow us to continue to provide consumers and commercial landscape contractors with a truly American-built product,” says Dan Ariens, president of Ariens Company.

Four new powder-coating systems will be installed in the company’s Plant 3 location (1550 W. Ryan St.), allowing Ariens to convert raw materials to finished goods in a single location for all of the company’s walk-behind power equipment products, including Sno-Thro machines, walk-behind mowers and wheeled string trimmers. To fully utilize the efficiency of the new powder-coating systems, the company is also making location changes within its plant operations that allow for fully integrated one-piece flow manufacturing.

Additional plant upgrades will include the creation of a new state-of-the-art production and engineering training facility. According to the company, the completion of this training center will provide each of its plants with independent learning centers.

“The addition of this third training facility provides opportunities for all of our associates to learn the techniques of the Ariens Production System in a classroom setting, reinforcing what they are learning as part of hands-on training,” says Ariens. It will also be used to teach the company’s 15 Guiding Principles of the Ariens management system as part of new employee orientation.”