Ariel Corporation formed in 1966 when Jim Buchwald and his partners, Jim Doane (Fredericktown, OH) and George Woodman (Houston, TX) conceived the idea of a small, high speed, reciprocating, separable compressor. Jim Buchwald designed the compressor and he and Jim Doane built the prototype in the Buchwald’s basement in Mount Vernon. Eventually the prototype was sold as Serial #1 and operated in the field for 28 years before the company reacquired it for permanent display in the lobby of Ariel Headquarters on Blackjack Road in the Industrial Park of Mount Vernon.
The Ariel compressor led to the formation of large wellhead rental fleets for the natural gas industry in the Southwest. Additionally, the reliability and quality engrained in Ariel’s corporate culture led to a significant global footprint. Today, Ariel enjoys the lion’s share of the reciprocating compressor market and is considered to be the market leader. Over the years, the company’s product lines have expanded to provide the largest range of horsepower available, from 100hp to 10,000hp to the oil and gas industry. Forty-six years later, Ariel Corporation is the largest manufacturer of reciprocating compressors in the world. Today, Ariel compressors are found in every oil and gas field throughout the world, and are a vital link in the extraction, processing, transportation and sale of natural gas.
Karen Buchwald Wright, President and CEO of Ariel, announced that in late 2012, Ariel is shipping Serial No. 40,000! She was joined by her father, Jim Buchwald, Ariel’s founder and her oldest son, Alex Wright, who recently joined the company. “We are very proud of our workforce and the community in which we live and work. We believe that is the secret to our success and we are happy to be able to share our good news and continued growth with the people of this community”, said Ms. Wright.
