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A-1 Sweeper Celebrates 25 Years

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By LAURA FRAZIER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 3, 2007

Updated: 11/01/2007 08:22 pm

BRANDON - From clunky hand-cranked contraptions to sleek automatons that navigate domestic terrain independently, the vacuum cleaner has undergone sweeping changes since its debut in the 1890s. And during the past quarter-century, A-1 Sweeper World in Brandon has evolved along with the floor-cleaning industry.

This month, the store at Parsons Avenue and Brandon Boulevard celebrates its 25th anniversary.
Mark Meyers opened the vacuum cleaner sales and service shop in 1982 in a storefront where Walgreen's stands. He moved to a plaza behind the Walgreen's, and today the 4,000-square-foot showroom and workshop offers residential and commercial floor cleaning equipment and supplies, sewing machines, air filtration products and a line of janitorial supplies.

Ever-changing flooring trends have kept the floor cleaning business interesting and challenging through the years, Meyers said.

"I like discovering all the new stuff on the market," he said.

In addition to standard vacuums, Meyers stocks equipment and supplies to clean ceramic tile, wood, laminate, stone and granite flooring.

"A lot of our customers have one or two rooms with carpet, and the rest is hard-surface flooring," Meyers said.

To meet the needs of customers who prefer to use "green" products - those touted as safer for humans and the environment - Meyers offers cleaning solutions with organic bases, such as hydrogen peroxide and orange oil. He predicts the nationwide push to "go green" soon will permeate the industry.

"A lot of the stuff people commonly use to clean their floors and their homes is very carcinogenic," Meyers said. "The lawyers are already wringing their hands with potential lawsuits, so the manufacturers are trying to head them off by going green. In a couple years, about 80 percent of the cleaning products you can buy at stores today won't be on the shelves anymore."

At a trade show Oct. 26 in Orlando, Meyers spotted the latest technology he hopes to stock by year's end: a combination vacuum and vapor cleaner. The machine, he said, allows users to dry-vacuum loose debris and then sanitize floors with a steam vapor mist. The unit uses no chemicals, only water.

The vapor vacuum "is a far cry from the basic Hoover with a metal brush roll and a paper bag inside an outer zipper bag," Meyers said. "Today, we have dual purpose vacuums with high filtration, vacuums that do carpet and bare floors and, of course, the robotic vacuums where you sit back and let the thing chug around the floor. It's an exciting business that's always changing."

A-1 SWEEPER WORLD

WHAT: Residential and commercial floor care equipment, parts, service and supplies, sewing machines and air filtration

WHERE: 112 E. Brandon Blvd., Brandon

STORE HOURS: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday

INFO: (813) 689-5257

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523 or lfrazier@tampatrib.com.

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