Arthur E . Drumm Arthur E . Drumm ( December 6 , 1929 - ) is an American inventor and industrialist of the modern street sweeping and industrial broom industry . Early life . Born 1929 in Marysville , Ohio , Arthur was one of 14 brothers and sisters , and the son of Francis Drumm and Evelyn Warner . Raised during the Great Depression , he worked on his father ' s farm from a very young age , graduated high school , and then joined the Marine Corps . He achieved the rank of staff sergeant before his discharge . Stationed in San Francisco , he would meet his wife , Roberta Bumpus . He would earn an apprenticeship in machinery , and would manage his own farm on the outskirts of Marysville until his 30 ' s while raising his young daughters . Inventions and Industrialism . Industrial Brooms . Drumm would become involved in the industrial broom industry . Industrial brooms are an emerging conservation product as the world moves toward more environmentally friendly practices . They remove harmful substances and pollutants from the roads that would otherwise drain off into vegetation and / or water sources , or be continually carried and pushed around by vehicles and other street traffic . They add longevity to asphalt through cleansing and preventing early decay . This in turn cuts down on the environmentally harmful practices of consistently paving and the manufacturing of toxic asphalt . They prevent flooding by collecting debris that would accumulate and block storm drains . Marysville Rotary Broom Service , Inc . . In 1964 , Drumm started Marysville Rotary Broom Service , Inc . in his machine shop , which was on the property of his home and farm . He would sell locally and regionally through " word of mouth . " In the late 1960s he would develop a machine which made the manufacturing of wafer brooms cheaper and faster through a mechanical process , versus the old manual process . This gave the business an advantage , and production increased dramatically . He would also obtain U . S . patent 3407425 for a spacer used in rotary brush assembly in 1968 . By the 1970s , Marysville Rotary Broom Service , Inc . had become a notable player in the industry , selling nationally and worldwide . Drumm would obtain numerous U . S . patents in the years to come while he led Marysville Rotary Broom Service , Inc . : 3900913 in 1975 ( core mounting assembly for rotary brooms ) , 4077081 in 1978 ( sweeper brush section ) , 4214339 in 1980 ( rotary broom core assemblage ) , 4490872 ( spiral brush section ) , 4490877 ( spiral brush section ) , and 4498210 ( brush bristle unit for brush rolls ) in 1985 . The machine shop Drumm had started in eventually would be transformed into a modern factory through additions and new construction during this period . Marysville Rotary Broom Service , Inc . reached its pinnacle under Drumm by the mid - 1980s . The company was attracting attention from all over with various interests , whether it was Drumm being featured on the local Columbus WBNS - TV evening news in a story about Reaganomics and the successful impact it was having locally on the economy with businesses . For personal and retirement reasons , Drumm would let go of Marysville Rotary Broom Service , Inc . , eventually being bought out in 1985 by Savage . Kennedy Brush , Savage ' s other industrial broom manufacturing company , and Marysville Rotary Broom Service , Inc . would merge in 1990 to form United Rotary Brush . Drumm Industries . Shortly after he sold Marysville Rotary Broom Service , Inc . , Drumm would start a new company , Drumm Industries in which he manufactured push brooms . In 1988 he received U . S . patent 4763378 ( push broom head of the channel - mounted bristle type ) . He would focus a considerable amount of time innovating a replaceable strip brush . This changed the whole process of manufacturing tube - brooms , as one tube could be recycled simply by replacing the brush through replaceable slide - on strips , versus the old method of wrapping the brush around the tube , welding it together , and shipping the tube back for a replacement wrap when it was worn out or scrapping the tube altogether . Drumm would obtain many patents relating to the strip brush innovation , including U . S . patents 5160187 in 1992 , 5251355 in 1993 , 5358311 and 5358312 in 1994 , 5445438 in 1995 , 5762404 in 1998 , < ref name = " patents . com " / , and 5933907 in 1999 . Drumm Industries would eventually be sold to Sweepster . Family and Retirement . In 2004 he was issued U . S . patent 6681871 along with his son - in - law , which improved an auger boring device . This invention is celebrated as progress in the history cited in a patent obtained in 2007 by another individual . The " ground - breaking " product was part of a joint venture he became involved with called Custom Augers . The Drumm Family was honored by the Union County , OH Veterans Remembrance Committee on Veterans Day , 2008 . A ceremony was held at the veterans memorial in Marysville honoring the Drumm Family ' s military service . References . Behrens , Melanie . " Drumming their own way . " " Marysville Journal - Tribune Online " . 29 nov 2008 . 6 dec 2008 . Hedstrom , Neil . " Power Sweeper Broom Engineering 101 " . American Sweeper Magazine . Unknown . 7 dec 2008 . City of San Diego , CA . " Street Sweeping " . By Street Divisions . Unknown . 7 dec 2008 . Three B Brush Manufacturing . " Wafers " . Unknown . 7 dec 2008 . Free Patents Online . " Search string : Arthur Drumm " . Unknown . 6 dec 2008 . Patents . " Search string : Arthur Drumm " . Unknown . 6 dec 2008 . United Rotary Brush . " Integrity In Products . Integrity In People . " Unknown . 7 dec 2008 . Sweepster . " Ready To Take On Any Job " . Unknown . 7 dec 2008 . Marysville Journal - Tribune Online . " Area Veterans Day activities scheduled " . 10 nov 2008 . 6 dec 2008 .