Abstract. We introduce a general construction that takes as input a so-called stiff PRO and that outputs a Hopf algebra. Stiff PROs are particular PROs that can be described by generators and relations with precise conditions. Our construction generalizes the classical construction from operads to Hopf algebras of van der Laan. We study some of its properties and review some examples of application. We get in particular Hopf algebras on heaps of pieces and retrieve some deformed versions of the noncommutative Faà di Bruno algebra introduced by Foissy.