BRILLION, Wis. — Bob Denor knows the ins-and-outs of the equipment built by the AriensCo in Brillion.

He not only worked as an engineer, but he also worked in the purchasing department at the company in the 1960s and 70s.

Denor is now a volunteer at the company’s museum.

“(Visitors) are fascinated when they finally get into the meat of it and some of the history that’s behind it,” he said. “Now, it’s not just sitting in their garage, they understand a little bit about how it got there to begin with besides buying it — the background of how it got there to begin with — that’s fascinating.”

The museum’s collection of tillers, snowblowers and mowers spans the company’s history from the 1930s through the 21st century.

It also includes a replica garage of founder Henry Ariens.

“We have the Model A from 1933 forward. How many people can say their company saved that many different machines?” Denor said. “We still have snowmobiles from 1970. How many people have one of the Ariens snowmobiles yet? We do.”

Development of that garden tiller by Henry Ariens kicked off the company in 1933.

Over the past nine decades, the company has built a portfolio of equipment ranging from snowblowers to lawn equipment.

“I’m old enough now where the history is still part of my life. It’s not the generation before me,” said Dan Ariens, the company’s CEO and chairman. “Growing up, working with my grandfather, I never really met my great-grandfather, Henry, but I knew about him. A tough, never-quit kind of person.”

While the museum looks at the past, it’s also a window into the future in an ever-evolving industry.

“Products like ours aren’t going to go away, even in the world of AI. They might be smarter products, but you’re still going to have grass to cut,” Dan Ariens said. “There are careers in this industry, and I’d like students to learn about what this might look like for them. Could I be an engineer? Could I be a manufacturing person? Could I be a welder? Could I build this stuff? It’s kind of fun.”

The museum recently opened to the public for tours conducted by people, such as Denor, on Thursday afternoons.

“More often than not, they can’t believe what’s here. They’ll say, ‘I didn’t know this was here. Boy, this is really interesting,’” Tenor said. “‘We didn’t know you guys made that kind of stuff. Wow, look at the history of that. I didn’t know you could do that kind of stuff with your equipment.’”

The museum and retail store in Brillion is open to the public Thursday afternoons with guided tours at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m..

Admission is free and donations are accepted. The museum is also available by appointment.