THE HISTORY OF HOLMAN

The History of Holman

From a single Ford dealership in New Jersey in 1924 to a global leader in automotive services with more than 6,000 employees, Holman has come a long way.

The Holman Tradition

After nearly 100 years, once again, Holman has brought all its companies and divisions together under a single, unified brand name. This means that we have officially changed our name from ARI to that of our global family, Holman, a brand driven by tradition and innovation in the UK.

Bringing the entire organisation together allows us to communicate the full breadth of our services better and inspire employees and job seekers with the strength of a larger, more competitive, and more dynamic enterprise.

From a single Ford dealership set up in New Jersey, America, in 1924 to a global leader in automotive services with more than 6,000 employees – Holman has come a long way.

Our leaders’ and employees’ mission is to provide the industry’s best
automotive-related services through training, empowering, and rewarding exceptional people, earning loyalty and exceeding the expectations of every customer, and giving back to the communities that support our success.

We have built the foundation of our success on doing the right thing. Our tagline – Driving What’s Right – represents our promise that this commitment will continue to guide us in everything we do.

Black and white picture of the Holmans' team
Mindy Reflects on Holman’s Founding Story

“The Holman story started in 1924 with one dream, to build a family business, and one vision, to always do the right thing for our people, our customers and our community. For nearly 100 years, we’ve stood by this commitment, and our collective actions have taken a visible place in our lives and our work. We will continue to be guided by the core principles upon which our business was founded: hiring and empowering the best, most talented individuals, providing exceptional customer service, and giving back to our communities.”

Important Moments In Our History

  • 1924
  • 1948
  • 1980s
  • 1990's
  • 2000's
  • 2010's
  • 2020's
  • 2022

  • Humble Beginnings

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    Holman Enterprises launched in Merchantville, New Jersey when Steward C. Holman signed a dealership contract with the Ford Motor Company.

  • Black and white photo of Ford F600

    Fleet Forward

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    Ford asked Holman to organise a new renting and leasing company for passenger cars and trucks. Holman was open for business with one desk in the corner of the Ford dealership.

  • Picture of buildings from above

    Upfitting Upgrade

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    Holman introduced services and online systems for maintenance, renewal and title management, including reports and analysis tools. Clients also gained access to our Client Information Systems team– the industry’s first team to provide customer-direct, technology-related support.

  • Picture of a building in Canada

    Strength in Numbers

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    To meet the needs of companies growing geographically, Holman expanded operations throughout North America. We also opened the first of several maintenance call centres. As the century closed, Holman introduced web-based systems for fleet managers and drivers

  • Man looking at the car tire

    The 2000’s

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    To help customers control costs during the recession in the US, Holman offered consulting support geared toward sustainability, fuel efficiency, and compliance.

  • Holman workshop with trucks inside

    The 2010’s

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    In 2011, Holman (as ARI) opened locations in England and Germany and acquired upfitting companies to support global and vocational fleets.

    Since this date, the UK has gone through a transformation of systems and management teams to ensure the business’s success for the future and place it as a leader. The investment culminated in numerous awards, with the most recent successes being Commercial Fleet Awards, Supplier of the year 2018 and What Van SMR award 2019.

  • Conference room

    The 2020’s

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    We formed Holman Strategic Ventures to develop our core business competencies aligned with disruptive technologies to meet future business and environmental challenges.

    As part of this new direction, we also launched EV Consult to help companies innovate their EV strategies.

  • Black and white picture of two men standing next to a car

    Driving What’s Right

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    With our UK name changing from ARI to Holman, 2022 marks a new, exciting era. As fleet and mobility strategies evolve, we will continue to invest in innovative technologies and processes to keep you on the cutting edge.

Join Us In Driving What’s Right

At Holman, we love what we do, take pride in our work, and never stop looking for opportunities to be better. We’re always seeking exceptional thinkers and doers to join us for the ride.

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