“Necessity is the mother of invention.”
Words to live by; or so thought Alex A. Clarke shortly after the turn of the 20th century in Dallas, Texas. It seems that Clarke was growing tired of the rough spots on his elbows acquired from his frequent visits to his friendly neighborhood tavern. So, in 1916, he invented a sanding machine designed specifically for sanding and restoring wood bar tops. Word spread quickly around the Dallas area about Clarke’s invention and, as a result, so did demand. So, Clarke arranged for the manufacture of these bar top sanders with a friend in Chicago who owned a small foundry and machine shop. Soon schools were ordering the Clarke Sander to restore wood desks, so, in 1922 he moved to Chicago to oversee the manufacturing and sales of his increasingly popular invention.
Through the mid-20’s demand increased, and Clarke added a handle to his sander for use in wood floor restoration. He also added a line of vacuum machines to the existing sander products to make quick work of jobsite clean-up. Demand soon outgrew Clarke’s manufacturing capacity, so, in a bold move, in 1929, Clarke moved the entire operation closer to the raw material of his sand-casted components – sand! Not just any sand, but the fine white sand found on the eastern shores of Lake Michigan. Clarke moved his company to Muskegon, Michigan, into a new building on McCracken Avenue funded by the Muskegon Industrial Fund.
Financial difficulties fell on the company in the early 1930’s, and Clarke was soon removed as manager of day-to-day operations. In 1940, Ernie Cooper and a business partner purchased the company stock out of liquidation. In 1942, Clarke employed 30 people and its sales reached $400,000.
As World War II drew to a close, Ernie Cooper began designing new products and formulated a sales plan to drastically expand the company’s presence in the cleaning equipment industry. He added floor polishers, vacuums and even small hand tools to the product line and, in 1946, reached an annual sales level of $4,000,000.
The 1950’s saw more growth, expansion and new product development for Clarke. Throughout the decade Clarke introduced the FM Floor Maintainer, the DU-8 Rental Sander and the industry’s first battery powered autoscrubber, the Clarke-A-Matic. Clarke was also active in acquisitions during this period, buying Porter-Cable’s sanding machine division, The Hilger Company, and the Modern Power Sweeper Company. In 1959, Clarke was acquired by the Studebaker Corporation and renamed the Clarke Floor Machine Division. Annual sales reached $9,000,000. Studebaker continue Clarke’s sales and product development expansion for the next twelve years, when, in 1971, Studebaker combined its Gravely division with Clarke to form Clarke-Gravely.
Ownership changes were common for Clarke in the 1980’s beginning with Gravely’s sale of Clarke to McGraw-Edison in 1982, who, in turn, sold Clarke to Cooper Industries in 1985. Under Cooper, Clarke acquired American-Lincoln (Industrial Sweepers and Scrubbers) and Delco (hot/cold water pressure washers) to augment the product line. Cooper also relocated the Clarke operations from Muskegon to Siloam Springs, Arkansas in 1985.
In 1986, Clarke was purchased by a former McGraw-Edison executive, James Mills, who combined Clarke with American-Lincoln and Delco to form Clarke Industries, Inc. In 1988, Mills moved Clarke from Siloam Springs to Springdale, Arkansas and, in 1989, incorporated Clarke Industries with Mills’ Thermadyne Industries, a manufacturer of cutting and welding equipment. Under Thermadyne, Clarke purchased the A.L. Cook Company, out of Greensboro, NC, in 1995 and entered the propane floor care equipment arena. In 1996, Thermadyne sold Clarke Industries to the Incentive Group, from Copenhagen, Denmark, who, two years later, combined Clarke with KEW to form ALTO U.S., Inc. In May 2004, ALTO U.S., Inc. was acquired by Nilfisk-Advance Group, headquarted out of Broenby, Denmark.
In 2014, Nilfisk-Advance sold the American Sanders product line to Pioneer Eclipse, a leader in floor care technology. Manufacturing and operations of of the American Sanders product line was relocated to Sparta, North Carolina.
American Sanders Milestones:
1916 – Alex A. Clarke loves beer, hates rough elbows… And so it all begins.
1929 – Operations move from Chicago to Michigan.
1956 – PS26/PS30 Electric, Gas and Propane Floor Scrubbers and DU-8 Rental Sander.
1959 – Clarke is acquired by Studebaker and introduces the FM Floor Maintainer.
1965 – First Dual Motor Upright Vacuum Cleaner, the Model 550.
1969 – First wide-area vacuum, the 580 SpaceVac.
1970 – First Carpet Extractor, the 903 Super Steamer.
1971 – Clarke produces the 1,000,000th FM Floor Maintainer.
1988 – Clarke relocates to Springdale, Arkansas.
1998 – Clarke and and KEW merge to form ALTO.
2004 – ALTO is acquired by Nilfisk-Advance and returns to the Clarke American Sanders brand.
2014 – Pioneer Eclipse acquires the American Sanders business from Clarke.
2015 – American Sanders and Pioneer Eclipse launched the TimberGuard line of water-based hardwood floor products.
2016 – American Sanders formally relaunches the brand as simply, “American Sanders.”
2017 - American Sanders launches the Epoch Rotary Sander, functions as planetary sander with the HydraSand multi-disc sanding head.
2020 - American Sanders launches the Legend Belt Sander, the most advanced floor sander in the industry to date.
2021 – American Sanders launched the Compass Stair Sander, the first specialized machine to sand both stair risers and treads.
2022 – American Sanders launched the Gym Vac, the first commercial high volume dust collection system for rider systems.
American Sanders
American Sanders began in 1903 as The American Floor Surfacing Machine Company and built the first floor sanding machine on record with the U.S. Patent Office. Over one hundred years later, American Sanders remains the worldwide leader in the design and production of wood floor sanders and edgers for the professional contractor as well as the do-it-yourselfer. Today we continue this heritage with innovative equipment designs focusing on performance, reliability and user ergonomics while furthering our investments in state-of-the-art product testing facilities, quality enhancement processes and upgraded production methods.
Pioneer Eclipse (Parent Company)
Throughout the cleaning industry, Pioneer Eclipse is recognized as a leader and innovator in floor care systems, with an emphasis on propane powered equipment and polymer based chemical products. The American Sanders acquisition strengthens this core floor care technology business by opening new sales channels for existing product lines, while at the same time increasing our floor care expertise. All of our brands are managed from our Sparta, North Carolina, manufacturing and operations facility which services customers globally, with sales in over 40 countries. We are a wholly owned subsidiary of Amano Corporation, a manufacturing conglomerate listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
More information: www.pioneereclipse.com
Pride Program
Being the leading manufacturer of wood floor sanders for more than a century takes dedication, long hours, commitment, and most of all, pride in what we do. At American Sanders, we take that responsibility seriously and are committed to continuously improving upon our innovative equipment design, performance, reliability and customer service. Click here to learn more about the American Sanders Pride Program.