If you read our story on the installation of an A.R.E cap on an '09 GMC 2500 in the January 2011 issue then you might be interested in some background info on A.R.E.
Since its inception, A.R.E. has taken a personal approach to business.
Founded by friends Sal Gatti and Jonas Yoder in the late 1960s, a fledgling A.R.E. first manufactured wood framed truck caps for a small niche market in the garage of Yoder’s lifelong friend and the company’s first employee, Aden Miller.
The three-man operation quickly became four, when the company expanded into the aluminum framed caps and storage sheds businesses, and added a welder, Miller’s sister-in-law Rachel Keim, to the mix.
During the shift from wood to aluminum, Miller shifted from production to design and Yoder decided to leave the operation all together to start a new venture.
In 1976, Sal Gatti’s son, Ralph joined A.R.E., working under the wing of Miller. Ralph intended to only work for the company until he could pay for his college tuition; however, he soon assumed the general manager’s role.
The name A.R.E. actually pre-dates the cap manufacturing venture. Gatti was involved in another business when he incorporated under that name. The theme of “family” fit the character of the company from the start, and has remained part of the corporate culture to this day. The “A” is for Anne Marie, his oldest daughter; the “R” is for Ralph, his only son at the time, and the “E” is for Elizabeth, his youngest daughter at the time.
As the company continued to grow, a second line of caps was added to the aluminum line. A national corporation located in nearby Wooster, Ohio, asked A.R.E. to develop an aluminum truck cap specifically for the new wave of mini-trucks being used in commercial fleet applications. As a result of this request A.R.E.'s highly successful "Deluxe Commercial Units" quickly evolved. These "DCUs" featured an array of optional accessories that made them ideal for utility and service trucks.
Following the success of the DCUs, Miller and the younger Gatti began to investigate the potential for other product lines. As they had seen aluminum replace wood as the building material of choice for a market in need of lightweight strength, they began to recognize that the same thing was rapidly occurring with fiberglass. Fiberglass reinforced plastics were beginning to provide the truck cap market with the styling and durability desired by the rapidly growing base of pick-up truck owners.
In 1982, Miller and Gatti’s son Ralph started A&R Fiberglass Inc. with the objective of taking advantage of the market’s shift toward fiberglass. Although their company operated independently from A.R.E., Gatti and Miller continued their involvement in A.R.E.’s day-to-day operations. Then, on Jan. 1, 1988, when Sal Gatti began contemplating retirement, A&R Fiberglass merged with A.R.E., resulting in one enterprise focused on quality, service and innovation.
The introduction of fiberglass into the A.R.E. product line-up began to fuel a period of rapid growth. Fiberglass as a material provided a wealth of production benefits and possibilities, as well as posing many challenges. Key among those challenges was developing the ability of the product to resist the tendency of the exterior finish to deteriorate with prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light. A.R.E. became convinced that the ultimate solution lie with providing an automotive-like quality finish, something the industry was a long way from delivering.
Following the company merger in 1988, Sal Gatti officially retired and Ralph Gatti became the company’s new president. It was during this changeover that plans to expand operations came to fruition.
There was no other person to call for the construction job than the one whose vision had helped to get the company off the ground in the first place, the JJY Construction Company and Jonas Yoder. Yoder watched over the project from start to finish.
A.R.E.'s first Open House christened the new 36,000 square-foot facility, and production began on aluminum, fiberglass, and DCU caps. The molds and fiberglass spraying continued in what is now referred to as Plant Two, the building that was created around the original garage belonging to Aden Miller.
In the next few years the building expansion continued:
In 1990, 12,000 square feet was added for assembly of new products and the relocation of the tooling department; and <o:p></o:p></span>
The business that began in a small garage with two workers now required the work of over 100 skilled craftspeople. From one pick-up pulling a flat bed trailer, A.R.E.'s delivery fleet now included six tractor-trailers.
The burgeoning truck market was very receptive to A.R.E.’s high-quality, reasonably priced products. From servicing primarily the Northeast market until the mid-eighties, A.R.E. made in-roads into the Southeast and the Midwest. The demand continued, and A.R.E. caps were delivered into Texas and the Southwest.
The fiberglass product line continued to grow into the 1990s, now comprising nearly 80 percent of the company's business. Ralph Gatti and Aden Miller, along with other company leaders, began to recognize the need for a facility that provided advanced technologies better suited to the demands of the industry. They also saw an ever-growing demand for more of what A.R.E. was becoming known for: quality products, innovative designs and on-time service. This meant analyzing the direction and commitment of suppliers of raw materials like resins, paints and window components. Suppliers like Dupont and Ashland Chemical proved to be valuable partners to A.R.E. in pursuing excellence in the finish quality of the A.R.E. truck cap. Component parts were also addressed with suppliers such as Alumax, Creation Windows, and A.L. Hansen. The need for component parts that met the rigorous specification demands of the automotive industry was as significant as the need for quality finishes. A.R.E., along with its supplier-partners, was raising industry standards at a fast and furious pace.
<span style="font-family: Arial;">With this kind of activity, A.R.E.'s 108,000 square-foot facility was bursting at the seams. With more growth on the horizon, Gatti and Miller began considering plans for the development of a satellite facility to serve western markets. A new "state-of-the-art" production facility and corporate office complex was to be built in nearby Massillon. This facility would meet growth projections and environmental commitments into the next century. The plant would cover 256,000 square feet and would produce fiberglass truck caps in the most environmentally conscious facility in the industry. Every piece of knowledge gained over 25 years would be employed in creating the best facility of its kind.
In Massillon, experienced craftspeople and management could quickly transfer from Mount Eaton, in order to handle the higher production volume. Miller, Gatti and their close associates visualized and designed the production flow and space required to have 300 caps produced from raw materials, painted, assembled and loaded every 24 hours. With the input of everyone from line workers to design engineers, they created special equipment, tools and conveyors needed by production personnel to make it happen on time, every time. The first truck cap rolled off the assembly line in August 1995.
For the next five years, A.R.E. continued its trend of controlled growth, averaging 20 percent production increases annually. This growth led to various modifications at both plants resulting in increased production capacity for the company.
During the same time span, A.R.E. products were modified in order to meet the market's growing demand for OEM design and function. The extremely popular L Series Fiberglass Tonneau Cover received painted trim, a new locking system, a more contoured design, and an award winning "lift-assist system." The redesigned LSII Series set the new standard for fiberglass tonneau covers. And the Z Series fiberglass truck cap, which was released in 1999, quickly became A.R.E.'s best selling cap to date, due to its functional and stylish design.
Today, A.R.E. continues to meet and exceed the market’s demand for innovative products, with the launch of truck bed accessories like the Sol-A-Ray keyless entry system, the SuperNet and the A.R.E. Prop Light. In addition, the manufacturer rounded out its product offering with an economical aluminum truck cap, the .019 Aluminum Unit, for both recreational and commercial use.
And while both Aden Miller and Ralph Gatti stepped down from their leadership roles in 2006, true friendships and relationships are still paramount at A.R.E., with Gatti handing over the reigns to A.R.E. board member and investor, Terrence Seikel.As the company’s new president and chief executive officer, Seikel is committed to maintaining the same business practices and goals that have brought A.R.E. to its current level of leadership in the industry.