Mill-Rose 100 Years
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Mill-Rose 100th Anniversary
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History of the Mill-Rose Company

Brush Manufacturing Expertise… 100 years in the making

Like an embodiment of the American Dream, the history of the Mill-Rose Company turned a mechanical bent into a new twist – in fact millions of twists – to become the flourishing organization it is today.

It all started a century ago in 1919 when Victor H. Miller purchased a confectionery store on the east side of Cleveland. In his spare time he produced wire racks and displays for picture postcards that were sold in the store. By fortunate coincidence a customer who was a representative of the Osborn Manufacturing Company watched his dexterity with wire and offered him a contract to make percolator brushes. From that very modest beginning the company was to grow and become the largest manufacturer of twisted wire brushes.

By 1925, it was decided to close the confectionery operations and specialize in manufacturing brushes. From there, steadily growing, Mill-Rose moved into larger facilities until finally in 1965, the company moved to its present location in Mentor, Ohio.

Mill-Rose expanded production significantly with the advent of World War II. In 1940 the company received its first lend-lease contracts for rifle cleaning brushes and by the end of the conflict had produced more than 35 million. With diminished demand for gun-cleaning brushes during the post-war period, Mill-Rose made the natural transition to manufacturer twisted wire brushes for other applications that were primarily industrial.

Mill-Rose took a unique approach to selling their industrial brushes. Mill-Rose sold to other brush companies. Mill-Rose manufactured brushes these companies did not make; offering them a wider selection of brushes that they in turn offered to their customers. The formula worked and Mill-Rose continued to grow. The quality of Mill-Rose brushes sells themselves. In fact, Mill-Rose has been setting the standard for quality, performance, and innovation in brush technology for the last 100 years.

Throughout the years, more and more companies turned to Mill-Rose to manufacture new and unique brushes, which led Mill-Rose into tremendous diversification. While Mill-Rose continues to produce millions of gun brushes for the armed forces, police and sports enthusiasts, this represents a small portion of the company’s business. Mill-Rose brushes are used in virtually every industry around the world, including, but not limited to, aerospace, agriculture, automotive, defense, energy, manufacturing, medical, technology, and telecommunications.

Customers can choose from thousands of standard and not-so-standard sizes and shapes of brushes that debur, polish, finish, sort, auger, conduct, dissipate, collect, move, and protect materials. Mill-Rose brushes are often used in non-brushing applications to solve engineering, design, and production problems. Mill-Rose has designed more than 100,000 special brushes with unique configurations for unique applications.

Clean-Fit Products

Strong demand for Mill-Rose brushes by the plumbing, heating and cooling industry led to the formation of Clean-Fit Products, a fast-growing division serving professional contractors, hardware wholesalers, and Do-It-Yourself home centers. Clean-Fit Products offers contractors a complete line of brushes, abrasives, PTFE sealants, and specialty tools, including our new line of Blue Monster® professional-grade products. Clean-Fit Products has experienced explosive growth with its Blue Monster product line, demonstrating the need for high-quality brushes and accessories with a unique and trusted brand name.

Mill-Rose Laboratories

Mill-Rose Laboratories manufactures a complete line of disposable, and reusable brushes, snares, and baskets used throughout the medical industry. Mill-Rose is the leading source for laboratory and scientific brushes, biopsy and micro brushes, and stainless steel wire forms used in a broad range of applications. Medical device manufacturers turn to Mill-Rose for our medical machining expertise and value-added service. Our commitment to cutting edge technology, product quality and customer satisfaction is second to none.

Mill-Rose has manufacturing and warehouse facilities throughout the United States and Mexico. Production facilities in Mentor, Ohio and Mexico feature advanced manufacturing techniques and quality-control programs that ensure unvarying quality. Production is complemented by a U.S. distribution center featuring state-of-the-art inventory management to better serve customers around the world.

Mill-Rose remains a family-owned organization, now in its fourth generation, and takes great pride in its history of serving satisfied customers.

Learn about Mill-Rose... “A Century of Excellence”