AriensCo held their dealer meeting at DoubleTree by Hilton Oxford Belfry in Milton Common, Oxfordshire on 5th September.

The day was led by Darren Spencer, Ariens Company Vice President for EMEA & Asia and COO and president of Ariens Corporate, Larry Weyers. All dealers for Countax, Westwood, Ariens and ECHO were invited.

This year’s theme was ‘Zero-In’ and hinted at the announcement that AriensCo headquarters in Oxford, UK, will be the centre for the European production of Ariens zero-turns. AriensCo will also be the HQ for operations for the EMEAA business. Dealers were offered a tour of the new zero-turn production line at the AriensCo factory and had the opportunity to try products on the demo ground.

The focus of the day was on the opportunities zero-turn will bring to dealers as well as showcasing a range of new products including the PGC+ cassette system and cassettes for the Countax and Westwood brands, together with the new 4WD models. Newly launched ECHO tools were represented with the CS-2511WES rear-handle chainsaw and the PB-8010 backpack blower.

“The dealer meeting was very successful, with our new products being exceptionally well received,” says Darren Spencer. “Many dealers left saying this was the most exciting Ariens event they had been to. There was a real buzz around the new product introductions and the announcement that we will be manufacturing zero-turns in the UK.”

Along with information on the new product ranges, the rest of the day was structured to provide dealers with useful tools to help grow their business. After the main presentation the dealers were able to attend various breakout sessions, which included a marketing update announcing the relaunched Ariens MarketHub. This online tool allows dealers to customise their marketing literature by building their own collateral and running their own promotions as well as ordering marketing materials, merchandise and promotional items.

There followed the opportunity to try out a range of machinery including the new C40 and T40 garden tractors, the new 4WD tractors from Countax and Westwood, the ZOOM, IKON, APEX and ZENITH zero-turns and the complete range of ECHO power tools. Professional chainsaw carver, Ian Williams did a series of carving demonstrations throughout the day, using a range of petrol and battery powered ECHO chainsaws including the new CS-2511WES.

The AriensCo Dealer Advisory Council (DAC) led a closed discussion with dealers, exploring industry issues and ideas to support the dealer network. The DAC will work with AriensCo over the coming 12 months to devise action plans to counter these issues.