American Companies Inc. Purchases 18 Acres in Martin City

Gale Holsman will be expanding his street sweeping business onto 18 acres in Martin City. Photo courtesy Martin City CID.

American Companies Inc. Purchases 18 Acres in Martin City

Story reprinted with permission from the Martin City CID

Whether you know it or not, you’ve seen the work of American Companies, Inc. For the past 30 years, owner Gale Holsman and his team have provided street, parking lot and event clean up across Kansas City, including Chiefs and Royals games, the Country Club Plaza, and even Martin City’s Irishpalooza parade.

The company is now expanding to 13301 Holmes Rd. in Martin City. The company is currently located at 116^th and Grandview Rd.  Recently, Holsman purchased 18 acres between Blue Ridge and 135th Street immediately east of the railroad tracks crossing Holmes Road. The property has been sitting vacant for almost 20 years, and Holsman plans to invest $700,000 to transform it into a storage and equipment rehab facility.

“We’ve been looking for a place to expand, and the property in Martin City was the right place at the right time for us,” said Holsman. “We plan to fix it up, keep it neat and organized, and turn it into something Martin City can be proud of.”

In the early 1980s, Holsman was working for a national municipal solid waste company as a rear load garbage operator. One day, he learned about “sweeper trucks” that vacuumed trash off streets and saw a business opportunity.

“I realized I didn’t want a job where I was a number – someone who nobody would notice if I was there or not,” said Holsman. “I bought my first truck, figured out how to work it, and the rest is history.”

At first, Holsman swept parking lots for free and left a note on the door that he cleaned their lot. Over time, managers started calling him when they noticed their lots hadn’t been cleaned for a few weeks. Soon, the business exploded with over 20 sweeper trucks and clients all over Kansas City, including the parking lots at Bannister Mall, JC Penney stores, and Royals and Chiefs games.

Today, the company includes five divisions specializing in parking lot sweeping, roll-off dumpsters, portable toilets, asphalt repair, and event stage rental.

Work is already underway on the Martin City property, including removing debris, painting the front building, and turning on the electricity. Future plans include retrofitting the other four buildings, adding an access road off Blue Ridge Boulevard, and possibly more.

“Martin City is a perfect location for us because it’s right in the middle of where we do business, with easy access to the rest of Kansas City,” said Holsman. “This community has become family for us, and we are considering moving the entire company here some day.”

To read the full article visit martincity.org.