American Sanders

American Sanders, established in 1903 as The American Floor Surfacing Machine Company, invented the first floor sanding machine and registered it with the U.S. Patent Office. Today, after 100 years, it still leads the world in designing and producing wood floor sanders and edgers for professional contractors and DIY enthusiasts.

American Sanders continues its legacy by prioritizing performance, reliability, and user comfort in its equipment design, investing in cutting-edge product testing and quality improvement processes, and upgrading its production methods.

 

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.”
  • August 2016 – American Sanders appoints Floor Sanding Supplies as their partner in Oceania
  • 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.