BRILLION, WI (WTAQ) – Governor Scott Walker was in Brillion on Monday to celebrate the production of the fourth millionth Sno-Thro machine by the Ariens Company.
And now Brillion residents and Ariens employees will be able to mark their calendars for a yearly celebration in their honor.
“I want to declare this Ariens Sno-Thro Machine Day all across the state of Wisconsin,” says Walker.
The special fourth millionth machine was revealed, which is a specially-designed matte black and grey color highlighted by a topographical map of Brillion.
The company also announced that they are donating four machines to local non-profit organizations.
It only took Ariens Company 6 years to move from 3 million produced Sno-Thro machines to 4 million.
Chairman and CEO Dan Ariens did some calculating to put their continued growth into perspective.
“We’ve used nearly 2,740 tons of orange paint to put the finishing touch on these machines,” says Ariens.
Dan Ariens great-grandfather, Henry Ariens, founded the company in 1933. Since then, neither the companies location nor the last name of their president has changed.
Governor Walker credited the company for being a beacon in the state’s healthy manufacturing workforce.
“We now have in 2018 more people working than ever before in the history of this state,” explains Walker. “We’ve had seven consecutive months of unemployment at, or below, three percent.”
Dan Ariens gave the Governor an opportunity to lend a hand on the assembly line as they kick-start their next goal of producing a fifth millionth machine.
The Ariens Company believes with continued growth they can expect to produce their fifth millionth machine in about five years.
