History | ARO Welding Technologies

1949: In Paris on the 24th June 1949 ARO was founded by Mr Albert Roland with a capital of one million francs. The aim: to manufacture and sell resistance welding equipment to the motor body repair industry.
1955: ARO opens its first subsidiary in Germany.
1957: ARO builds a second factory in Chateau du Loir. ARO now has production facilities in Chateau du Loir and Chilly Mazarin (the suburbs of Paris, near the Orly airport). The new factory allowed the independent production in a number of specialist fields such as a mechanical engineering department, an electronic engineering department, injection moulding, a light alloy foundry, heat treatment, a sheet metal work department and the most modern paint spray installation.
1958: On April 1st the Chateau du Loir factory was opened and began manufacturing.
1958: ARO receives an Oscar from the French minister of finance and economics, Mr Antoine Pinay, for the exportation efforts of its products to over 21 countries.
1959: An exhibition in Paris in which ARO presents its products.
1963: ARO receives another Oscar from the French authorities in recognition for the company’s export efforts.
1963: Clients using a “Beton” welding machine to weld steel frames together used in concrete blocks to add stability. In this photo the men are assisting in the construction of an underground car park in Paris.
1964: ARO opens a subsidiary in Spain.
1969: ARO celebrates its 20th anniversary. The company has demonstrated a steady growth over the first 20 years and hopes to maintain this into the future.
1973: IWKA buys ARO to allow the flexibility of a medium sized firm yet the technical and financial potential of a big firm. It is allowed product expansion into resistance welding guns.
1974: Headquarters moves from La rue de la Colonie in Paris to Chilly-Mazarin, next to the factory.
1983: Headquarters and the factory move from Chilly-Mazarin to Chateau du Loir. Now all operations, manufacturing and services are functioning in one location.
1986: ARO develops its export activities even further with the creation of ARO MAC in America. This started out as a single agent in Cleveland, but now consists of a factory in Detroit with a changed name of ARO US.
1987: ARO welding in the UK is established.
1988: ARO delivers its first commercial project using electric motorization.
1999: An acquisition with American company SAVAIR is made to facilitate trading in America.
1999: ARO obtains ISO 9001 Certification.
1999: ARO celebrates its 50th anniversary with a 3 day event. Clients from across the world were invited to celebrate as well as family and friends of employees. As part of the occasion, ARO launched its new manual gun series: the Ergoline range.
2002: The Chateau du Loir factory is extended and the technical building is constructed.
2004: The building for the ARO controls division is constructed. They are responsible for researching and developing the controls and electrics for all welding equipment.
2005: ARO opens a subsidiary in Wuhan, China.
2006: In December of 2006 Langley Holdings plc acquired ARO Welding Technologies from German MDAX listed automation group, IWKA AG.
2007: ARO launches the newest generation of robotic welding technology for the automotive market, the 3G gun.
2008: ARO was awarded the Ford Q1 award after recognition for its high standard in quality.
2008: 2008 also saw the launch of the auto adaptive range.
2010: New president appointed Mr Jean-Yves David after the retirement of Mr Jean-Pierre Mereau.
2011: Today, ARO continues to remain the market leader in adaptive resistance welding technology with around 450 employees worldwide and a global presence in over 40 countries.
2013: ARO opens a subsidiary in Sao Paulo, Brasil.
2014: Aluminium Welding Solution: launch for mass production (ex: FORD F150)
2019: New showroom and welding laboratory at Montval sur Loir plant showing the latest ARO innovations.
2019: Commercial launch of “Servoline”, a plug and play servo manual station, eliminating the need for compressed air in manual welding.
2019: Celebrating 70 years in business, today ARO continues to remain the market leader in adaptive resistance welding technology with around 500 employees worldwide and a global presence in over 40 countries.