Old Dominion Brush Company by North American Constructors Journal

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Old Dominion Brush Company

It’s A Clean Sweep

ODB is a leading manufacturer of street sweeper brooms and debris collection equipment for municipalities, contractors and commercial landscapers. Written by Kevin Doyle Produced by Stephen Marino

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decade into its second century, Old Dominion Brush Company of Richmond, VA is still going strong. Founded in 1910 by Henry Brizzolara, ODB is a leading manufacturer of street sweeper brushes and debris collection equipment. After more than a century of independent operation, the company was purchased by international conglomerate The Alamo Group of Seguin, TX in June 2017. It is now one of 35 companies operating under Alamo’s expansive Industrial Division umbrella. ODB employs approximately 90 individuals at its Richmond facility, generated almost $30 million in annual sales in 2019, and works with a national network of 23 dealers that sell products primarily to municipalities, contractors and commercial landscape markets. At the time of the acquisition three years ago, Alamo Group President and CEO Ron Robinson said in a press release: “We are pleased to have Old Dominion as part of the Alamo Group. This is a well-known and well-respected brand whose products are complementary to our existing range of infrastructure maintenance equipment and parts.” The company is noted for its

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innovation and ability to stay ahead of the curve in a competitive niche market. “The company started making household brooms, street push brooms and small handheld brooms and brushes, then expanded to sweeper replacement brooms and the street sweeper wear parts, so really they’ve been able to stay ahead by not doing the same thing,” says President Tim Stumph, who joined ODB in November of 2019.

“In the 1980s they moved into debris and leaf vacuum equipment and grew that business into the largest debris collection provider in the United States, along with its brushes, brooms and replacement parts. So the ODB name has a lot of brand recognition in the industry for its quality products,” he adds.

Innovative Nature Stumph believes any product can be enhanced by innovation,

“In the 1980s they moved in equipment and grew that busines tion provider in the United State brand recognition in the indus - President T

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a quality at the core of the company’s DNA. “How do you innovate a product that’s been time-tested for decades and where do you get that innovation from? Of course you have to have talented people, which we do. I do think that no matter who your market is or what your product is, you can improve it. I think our competitors try to

nto debris and leaf vacuum ss into the largest debris colleces … the ODB name has a lot of stry for its quality products.” Tim Stumph

do the same thing or they copy us, so we’re the ones who have to be innovative. Since Alamo purchased us we’ve done that pretty well and at a pretty high rate,” he states. The company attended ConExpo 2020 in Las Vegas this past March and had a high visibility booth between Alamo sister companies Gradall and Schwarze Industries. “We had a lot of activity and sales people there to explain our product. We only had a single product, an LCT600 tagalong towable for a debris collector. This is our base unit, our first entry into the market, and it has been improved many times and gone through several evolutions,”

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Old Dominion Brush Company | 8 Stumph explains. In its current iteration, the LCT 600 features a Kubota 87hp engine with a 28-inch diameter impellor, giving it the best suction of any machine in its class. A 4-groove Kevlar power band transfers power from the engine to the impellor to provide maximum suction. Its 16-inch diameter x 120-inch long wire reinforced rubber intake hose is 3/8ths of an inch thick and is maneuvered via an electric/ hydraulic boom. While the company typically focuses sales on municipalities and contractors, the LCT600 drew interest from landscapers, colleges and one facilities manager

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interested if it could handle the debris left behind by tailgaters at a football game. “I think it could probably suck up a grill,” Stumph jokes. “We were happy we went. We got interest out of areas we normally wouldn’t, so in that respect it was worth it.” The company also exhibited at the PWX Equipment Show in New Orleans this past summer and at the SGFMA Equipment Show in Myrtle Beach in October.

A Stable Environment The company retains a massively loyal work force, which Stumph credits to the ownership of

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the Brizzolara family for three generations. “We’ve got people with 20, 30, and 40 years here. The previous owners treated people very, very well. I’m still in touch with them today. They can help me out with certain dealers and certain issues. When you treat your employees well they return that loyalty,” Stumph says. He prefers a hands-on management style and is involved with every facet of the operation, from working directly with the Engineering team, to motivating employees, talking with customers and dealers, attending production meetings and doing performance reviews.

“As President, it’s your job to be able to wear a lot of different hats and manage your resources. I enjoy the complexity and diversity,” he says. “I like to think of myself as a pretty good idea generator, so I’ll take a hand in coming up with an idea with the Engineering Team, provide them with direction and they’ll knock it out of the park. I’ll do a lot of advising and I’m proactive when there are upturns or downturns. I have a lot of experience and need to impart as much knowledge as I can on those who don’t have the same level of experience,” he says. While the company self-performs a majority of its work, when it comes to working with vendors, Stumph

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“We need a solutions provider, not a parts supplier. We may not be educated in that engineering function or facet, so we need to outsource that and partner with vendors that can bring us that expertise or market experience.” - President Tim Stumph

makes ODB’s needs quite clear: “We need a solutions provider, not a parts supplier.” “We may not be educated in that engineering function or facet, so we need to outsource that and partner with vendors that can bring us that expertise or market experience. With engineering I need availability and a large scope of product knowledge and I need you to make recommendations to me – cost options, pros and cons, new technology. We have to partner with quality vendors to produce things that are just not in our wheelhouse. We are always updating our designs,” he stresses.

of dealers requesting to sell its products. His advice for those new to the company? “Be bold, think big, ask ‘what if’ and amazing things can happen. Dream big and pull the trigger,” he concludes.