ABSTRACT

Street sweepers range in size from small towable units to large units mounted on heavy duty chassis. Sweepers sold into the North American marketplace include mechanical broom sweepers and air-based sweeping equipment: vacuum sweepers and regenerative air sweepers. Air-based sweeping equipment is generally more effective than mechanical types in removing fine sediment and consequently reducing pollutant run-off from streets into storm run-off systems.

Mechanical broom sweepers remain the standard for sweeping heavy or compacted material. Despite increasing competition from newer air-based sweeping systems, mechanical sweepers remain the most common type of sweeper in the marketplace.

Vacuum sweepers are effective in picking up debris on uneven surfaces, but release high levels of particulates into the air. Most employ water-based dust suppression systems.

Regenerative sweepers, on the other hand, engage a closed loop system, using a high velocity air jet blasting down onto the pavement to force up debris and dust. Rather than releasing dust-laden air into the atmosphere as a vacuum sweeper does, a regenerative sweeper filters out the particles and contains them within the unit.

The market is dominated by Elgin Sweeper, a division of Federal Signal Corporation. Elgin and its top two competitors account for 80% of sweeper units produced in North America. Smaller players tend to specialize in smaller products, such as vacuum sweepers for parking lots.

This is the only report of its kind on the estimated $220 million North American market for street sweeping equipment. It can be put to immediate use for sales and market planning, M&A identification, competitive share analysis, alliances and technology transfer considerations.