Nearly 100 years of vision and leadership.

Incorporated in 1911, Artos first developed automatic measuring and cutting machines for textile ribbon and narrow, flexible materials. The company struggled in its first decade, trying to find a broader market for its equipment.

Haaken Olsen, a then up-and-coming engineer who joined the company in 1918, noticed an increased usage of insulated copper wire in the manufacturing of automobiles, appliances and radios. Such wires were cut and stripped laboriously by hand. Olsen thought there might be a market for machines that would pull insulated copper from a reel, measure pre-determined lengths of wire and cut it off, and at the same time, remove the insulation from both ends of the wire.

With Olsen's persistence, the company developed the CS-1 automatic wire cutting and stripping machine in 1926. No such machine had ever been made before and Olsen vowed to sell at least a dozen. The success of this development created a whole new industry, with Artos alone selling more than 55,000 wire processing machines.

Throughout the 20th century, the Wisconsin-based wire processing company experienced its fair share of challenges. The company successfully maneuvered through many different business eras, including two World Wars, the Great Depression, economic recessions, economic globalization and significant technological advancements.

However, the constant through it all was Artos' spirit of innovation and its commitment to serving its customers. Artos produced machines that were technologically advanced, labor-saving and cost-effective and that were needed by a wide variety of industries and markets.

Artos Engineering's mission has always been to help its customers - large and small - by developing equipment to solve unique processing problems. Early Artos leaders knew the best way to grow and prosper was to serve its customers well and help them prosper. That business approach called for strong engineering that allowed customers to adapt to changing business conditions with equipment that would be valuable to their companies for years to come.

"We have been fortunate to have leaders and employees, past and present, who have carried out our tradition of excellence, innovative design and impressive service to which our customers have grown accustomed," says Artos Engineering's president, John Olsen II. "Artos has always and will always develop robust, technologically advanced machines with a long history of reliability. It is our mission to be open and receptive to our customers' wants and expectations and to produce high-quality machines that can be easily configured to match their specific applications."

Artos remains optimistic about the prospects for growth in the industry, both domestically and worldwide. The company is pressing on with new product introductions that are consistently innovative and relevant to customers.

"At Artos, we recognize that the movement of business globally brings in new challenges and opportunities," says John Olsen II. "Our goal is to continue to grow market share and cultivate continued growth in all segments as we anticipate the approach of our 100th anniversary."