One hundred and fifty years ago, Tennant Company founder George Tennant started his business on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Like many others, he chose the location to power his sawmill, milling and planning timber to help build the young and growing city.
Over the years, Tennant’s business grew and changed as company leaders made investments in innovation and focused on solving problems for customers. Innovation is at the core of Tennant’s success, from the early days when the company recognized the potential of mechanizing the laborious task of maintaining its wooden floors. The company moved from making floors to providing floor care solutions—introducing ground-breaking products to improve cleaning processes, provide safer and more comfortable equipment for operators, and make cleaning more sustainable.
The latest advancement in this proud tradition is the first-to-perform robotic floor scrubber. Tennant’s entry into the world of robotics shows that the 150-year-old company is still very much focused on the future—and looking forward to another 150 years of industry firsts.
The Tennant brand is known globally for quality, reliability and service. The flagship mark leads other respected brands owned by the company: Nobles, Alfa, VLX and recent acquisitions IPC and Gaomei. With manufacturing facilities in Europe, Asia, and North and South America, direct sales operations in 15 countries and a network of distributors spanning more than 100 countries, Tennant Company cleans around the world to fulfill its mission: Making the world a cleaner, safer, healthier place.
Built into that mission is a focus on community and stewardship that has become a core part of Tennant’s culture. In addition to sustainable technologies and cradle-to-cradle manufacturing processes, the company contributes to its communities by maintaining environmentally focused practices in Tennant facilities, as well as engaging in community clean-up and improvement activities.
Volunteering and community involvement take many forms at Tennant. In fact, the cornerstone of the company’s celebration of this year’s milestone anniversary is our “$150K for 150 Years” challenge, inviting Tennant employees throughout the world to raise the equivalent of $150,000 for charities they choose through donations of cash, goods, and work in their neighborhoods.
A century and a half of innovation. Of involvement in communities. Of partnership with customers. This year, as Tennant Company celebrates one hundred and fifty years, a new global headquarters campus is opening in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The property is less than 20 miles from the Mississippi River where George Tennant started his business—as is fitting for a company that is grounded in deep traditions, inventing its future, and making its mark as an industry leader.
