Ahrens Bob
| Type of person | Individual |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1938 |
| Place of birth | Gawler |
Bob Ahrens of Shea-Oak Log had 2 brothers and 3 sisters , has been a huge asset to the region in all fields from Rotary to Gawler show and much more. He joined the Family company with three generations working side by side, and before long Bob’s wife Marj joined the team. Success was due to his trailblazing efforts and unique rural innovations, plus mother Marj, and her well-kept ledgers – he was the first generation to lead the company into unchartered waters with rural infrastructure business. Together, Bob and Marj’s leadership led Ahrens to extend their product range to grain silos, field bins, rural sheds and stone and land rollers.
Ahrens Engineering is a 120-year-old family-owned SA company, spanning five generations, delivering a diverse range of high-quality and cost-effective products, projects and services.
Beginning in 1902 as a one-dimensional business in Sheaoak Log, on the edge of the Barossa Valley, and offering blacksmithing services of its time, the business has grown significantly across the decades to 27 divisions and backed by 1000-plus people.
Ahrens is now a full Construction, Manufacturing, Engineering, Mining Services, Silos, Sheds and Water Storage company. The company, led by fourth-generation and Managing Director Stef Ahrens, and has transformed from a steel fabricator and shed builder to providing full turnkey project solutions across Australia, with operations overseas.
The Ahrens family is proud of its ancestral roots which began when Wilhelm, a hard-working blacksmith, who decided to test his luck on the Kalgoorlie goldfields in WA. After falling seriously ill with typhoid fever, he was forced to return to the Barossa Valley with wife Alma and their two young children. Wilhelm rented a barn in Sheaoak Log where he set up a blacksmith shop, offering basic services such as shoeing horses for the local farmers. For the first 50 years of Ahrens, Wilhelm and his son Bill ran the blacksmith shop which experienced many changes, including motorised vehicles and power tools. And then Bob came into the family business and the rest is history.
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