BRILLION, Wis. – Ariens Co. has reached an agreement to acquire Norwegian power equipment distributor Søvde, located in Rygge, Norway. The acquisition is expected to be completed in early February of 2011. Søvde will continue to operate as a two-step distributor between Ariens Co. and independent power equipment dealers in Norway. Lasse Jonassen will remain as Managing Director of the company.

“While it is not part of our long-term strategy to acquire distributorships, this decision was based on a 40-year relationship with the Søvde family who grew the Ariens Sno-Thro brand to become the largest-selling snow thrower brand in Norway,” says Dan Ariens, president and CEO. “This acquisition will ensure Ariens maintains a lead position in the Norwegian snow thrower market and achieve the same results with Søvde’s recent expansion into Sweden.”  

Ariens Company’s recent acquisition of the British tractor company, Countax, combined with Ariens’ brand strength in Scandinavia, will double the company’s growth of commercial and consumer lawn markets there as well, according to Ariens.

“In the future, we see that we can build on this strategic location to stimulate growth in other parts of Northern Europe as well as Scandinavia,” says Ariens.