ARIENSCO TO CEASE ALL UK PRODUCTION

AriensCo have informed their dealer network that all UK production at the Great Haseley factory in Oxfordshire will be ending.

TurfPro's sister magazine Service Dealer has seen a notification that the company sent to their dealer network last month informing them of the change.

Service Dealer reached out to AriensCo for a statement to clarify the situation who confirmed, "Ariens Company has decided to transform its UK business operation from a production facility to a sales and service model with domestic distribution.

"In the future, the UK site will act as a sales and service location for the local market, in order to be able to support dealers and customers even better. AriensCo’s foremost commitment lies in nurturing and enhancing its longstanding partnerships in the region."

The official statement continued, "The products of the Ariens brand are manufactured at the world class production sites in the USA and delivered from there to the worldwide markets. This allows importers, dealers and customers to benefit from the high quality and technology standards of the zero-turn production there. The individual requirements of the local markets continue to be perceived and ensured by the European product management and marketing team.

"The production of Countax and Westwood garden tractors will be discontinued by the end of 2023. However, AriensCo remain committed to supporting these brands through the provision of spare parts, accessories and technical support."

In terms of redundancies at Great Haseley, the statement said, "In the course of the realignment, all staff were strongly involved and all measures were implemented fairly, respectfully and amicably. Of course, the departing employees were also supported in their search for new jobs."

The statement concluded, "AriensCo strongly believes in the future of it’s Zero Turn mowers, Snow Blowers and the products of the AS-Motor brand. Therefore, the strategy of the Ariens Company is now clearly focused in growing these segments."

Recent history

It was back in September 2019 that AriensCo made a major announcement that production of Ariens brand zero-turn mowers would commence at the Great Haseley facility. At the time the company reported seeing "an exceptional growth in demand for zero-turn mowers in the UK and Europe". 

Darren Spencer, Vice President - EMEA and Asia said in 2019, "Sales of zero-turns in Europe have experienced exceptional growth over the past three years.

“AriensCo have experienced this growth in numerous markets and, based upon extensive research with our distribution partners, we expect the growth to continue. This industry analysis points to the many opportunities to be met by producing zero-turns at our Great Haseley plant."