MONAHAN & PARTNERS, LLC
ST AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA

Monahan Partners assembles wood, metal and fiberglass mopsticks. We offer a full range of metal and plastic attachments for both wet and dry mops. We sell component parts for self-assembly. Monahan Partners offers popular plastic and metal janitor quick changes/stirrups, gripper (jaws), plus household and janitor size spring and levers. And for dust mops, we offer nylon slide connectors and patented flexible connector. Other popular products are dust mop frames and heads (in 3 1/2 and 5-inch widths) including cotton, colored cotton, colored synthetics, disposables and microfiber dust mop pads with a Velcro backing as well as wedge mop heads and frames. Monahan Partners also sells broom braces, industrial T-bars, plastic/ wire connectors for lay flat mops, twist mops made with cotton yarn, microfiber yarn, and non-woven strips, microfiber yarn wet mops, both metal and plastic hinge sponge mops and fiberglass handles with swivel cap and thread. To tell the story of Monahan Partners, we have to start with the history of its parent company – The Thomas Monahan Company. The current management of Monahan Partners is the fifth generation of Monahan’s to work in the cleaning tool industry. Current President and 5th generation family member, Kevin Monahan, shares the goal of carrying on the tradition and ideals summed up in the parent company’s mission statement: “The Thomas Monahan Company is dedicated to serving the broom, brush & mop industries as the best provider on a worldwide basis.” Along the path in fulfilling that goal, all Monahan’s have enjoyed the opportunity to spend a great amount of quality time together, and have enjoyed working with people throughout the industry. It all started a long time ago. The Monahan family has been involved in the cleaning tool business for nearly 150 years. In the late 1800’s, Patrick Henry Monahan, an immigrant from Loughrea, Ireland, was one of the first broomcorn brokers to set up shop in the State of Illinois. Patrick Monahan had traveled around the east coast for a number of years before settling in Arcola in the 1860’s. Around the same time, farmers in this small central Illinois community had begun growing a new cash crop, a type of sorghum called broomcorn, characterized by a strong, durable fiber that made it perfect for use in sweeping tools. In 1867, Monahan started in business as a broomcorn broker. There were two aspects to the job. Each crop in each broomcorn field grows differently, so the broomcorn broker was charged with evaluating crops and then recommending to individual broom manufacturers whether or not certain crops were worth purchasing to meet their unique requirements. It was a real art to be able to judge, and then to be able to match what the customer liked as far as the percentage of the sizes of long and short corn each crop would yield. The broomcorn brokers earned their reputations in part on this ability to match a crop to a broom makers needs. In 1871, Patrick Monahan turned his brokerage firm over to a cousin, Thomas Lyons, and by 1875 the firm became known as The Thomas Lyons Company. Patrick and his wife, Hannah had a son, the first Thomas F. Monahan. Thomas followed in his father’s footsteps and went to work for the Lyons Company. Thomas purchased the business in 1922 and renamed it The Thomas Monahan Company. At that time, nearly 14,000 tons of broomcorn was raised each year within a 10-mile radius of Arcola, the town that was known as “The Broomcorn Capital of the World.” Thomas Monahan was well known around town for his dedication to the broomcorn brokerage firm, but he was perhaps even more respected for his community service, as he served as mayor of Arcola and was an instrumental part of several community projects and events during the 1920’s and 30’s. Thomas and Lillian Monahan had two children, a daughter, Mary, and a son, Thomas Monahan, Jr. Thomas, Jr. (Tom) graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1931, where he played football for the legendary coach, Knute Rockne. After a short time in Chicago, Tom joined the family business. Tom established a Monahan Company presence in the other broomcorn growing areas of the county; Kennedy, Beeville and Hondo, Texas, Lindsay, Oklahoma, Walsh, Colorado and San Jon, New Mexico. He also began diversifying the company, by brokering items for broom manufacturers other than broomcorn; items like wire, twine, bands and handles. Tom married Mary Cunningham in 1937 and became president of the Monahan Company in 1939. At the time Thomas F. Monahan, Sr. died in 1945, Tom and Mary Monahan had three boys, Tim, Pat and Joe and another, Jim, was on the way. Over the years, Tom with the help of his sister, Mary, and a hard-working staff, built on the reputation of the company and established a strong financial foundation. Tom also made sure his sons were involved in the business from an early age. “In high school, or even in late grade school, we worked in the warehouses during the summer – unloading broom corn, “Jim said. “In high school, we were sent to some of the broom corn growing fields in Colorado, Oklahoma and South Texas. We grew up around broom corn and were into the broom and mop business ever since we were old enough to think about it.” In the early 1960’s, Tim pioneered the concept in the United States of the preparation of broomcorn for the broom manufacturer. The first product offered using the method was called Redicorn and is the preferred method in which manufacturers purchase broomcorn today. “The dealer’s function changed primarily to financing all the different lengths so the farmers and the processors could turn their crops into cash, and the dealer then could get the 22-inch hurl broomcorn into the hands of the people making warehouse brooms.” “In the past, if broom manufacturers bought a corn crop and it was only 2,000 pound of whisk corn, they had to cut long corn down if they sold more than 2,000 pounds worth of whisk brooms,” Tim said. “Broom manufacturers might make money on the whisk brooms, but lose money getting rid of the odds and ends and extra lengths that stacked up. There was a real balancing problem.” “When processed corn came along, you could sell twice as many whisk brooms and not worry. The manufacturer just bought 12 inch hurl and the dealer then worried about getting rid of the other lengths.” “When I came into the business, I really took care of the processing side of broomcorn and my dad took care of the raw corn side of the business. By 1970-’71, 80 percent of the market had switched to processed corn. By 1975, probably 90% of the market was using processed corn,” Tim said.