Kleen Sweep, Kilgore TX – Growth–Savvy Leadership

Angie Browning and her husband Bob have a shared life story of a kind that you certainly do not hear about every day. They were referred to NAS for this Spotlight by a mutual business acquaintance because of their interesting backgrounds and the unique circumstances under which they came to take charge of Kleen Sweep TX, LLC, in Kilgore, about 120 miles due east of Dallas. 

The couple took over management of the company from Angie’s mother, Joan, when she finally decided to retire. She had been running the business alone since her husband died. But Angie and Bob were, themselves, already retired! Wait. You may wonder – how old are these people? Lol. The Brownings had retired very young.

Who are the Brownings of Kilgore?

The Brownings’ story is about a big life led by one of the powersweeping industry’s most dynamic couples. Angie and Bob had retired from their high-powered careers, her as a commercial real estate sales rep and him as an onsite construction manager overseeing development of hospitals, hotels, etc., for an industrial building contractor. The couple came out of retirement to buy the family business started by her father in 1979. They’re now turning an average mom ‘n pop sweeping business into a fast-growing regional competitor in eastern Texas. 

Angie reflects, I started out in commercial property acquisition, then moved on to the residential real estate sales in the Dallas metroplex. I had also dabbled in commercial real estate site selection. Then, I went to work for Freddie Mac. Brokers and realtors on the team would go out and take pictures of houses, provide overviews, and gather comps (sold and current). Then I made the decision to repair or sell each property as-is, determined a price to put on it, and then negotiated to sell it. 

My husband was in commercial construction management. He built the Blue Cross Blue Shield offices in Dallas, hotels, and other high-rises. When we got together, he was commuting by plane to build out the last undeveloped lot in downtown Chicago at that time. 

Bob and Angela Browning, Run Up to the Transition  

We were retired and living on a golf course in a community outside Tyler, Texas, when, one day, my mother said, “I’m 82 and ready to retire.” So, she sold us the business and the 10 acres my parents lived on for 33 years. I was still young; I had retired fairly young. 

Because my husband and I had backgrounds in different areas of real estate, when we bought my parents’ business together, we felt like between the two of us we had a good working knowledge of what commercial property owners and managers want. 

For me, running this company now is much about preserving a family business legacy. I wasn’t looking for something. But this business keeps my family’s memories alive. I’m a natural tomboy, so I like to drive the trucks. In fact, when we get finished talking, I’m going out to do some street sweeping. 

Family Tradition of Brave Business Choices

The whole story of how we got into this started all the way back when my parents moved away from our hometown. We grew up in Paris, Tx. All my family, including my great-grandparents, lived in Paris. My parents did the bravest thing. They sold everything and moved to Longview and started an unusual business in 1979. They took a chance on something new, a niche market. My dad would drive the trucks at night and my mom worked during the day. Some of our customers today are ones we’ve had for 45 years, the full length of time our company has been open. 

When my dad got sick, my sister and I would come over and help my mom. My foreman started working for my dad while he was still in high school, and he is still with me today. When Daddy passed away, our foreman stayed on. I came in and helped with the books, both my sons worked on the trucks, and Mama kept the business going. My sons had grown up repairing the trucks with my dad. When Mom retired, neither of my sons was positioned to buy the business. They have their own families and jobs. 

The company’s shop is on the acreage where my parents lived. The trucks had been parked outside throughout the years. When we took it over from my mom in 2021, we built a metal building with a three-stall garage to work on the trucks. My office is also in the building, and the employees have an office and a full bath in the building too.

We completed that building and then started working on remodeling her house (on the 10 acres they lived on). We were going to move into it, and my mom was going to move into a smaller place next door, but she passed away. We have two very long-term employees. It’s important to me to keep our workers employed. But I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy it. As I said, it’s more about the legacy than the job.

Retirement Business Startup Years

A lot of our sales come from word of mouth, though I do go out to do some selling, and my husband is a gem at sales. If we go to a restaurant, he may tell the host, “We came in and the lot was filthy.” He is more of an extrovert than I am. But I’m pretty good at the marketing too. For example, I just made up a nice little brochure because we have expanded with the new trucks. 

I was having to sub out a lot of work to Bob Stumpf and his wife Connie, who own BZ & Sons, a sweeping and outdoor maintenance company in Paris. I believe his father is the one who got my father into the business, and he has mentored me. Bob was coming and doing all my heavy-duty work, and I was paying myself to shuffle paperwork. 

I told my husband that this is the direction the business is going, and we have to go with it. We can stay small, or grow and be ready. If the market goes toward using AI or battery-powered vehicles to clean parking lots, we’ll still be set to compete. Now I can do the sweeping work myself. I have drivers; they do the heavy lifting. Unless somebody’s sick. Then I go out. And if there’s daytime work, I take that. 

We do some portering; our regular drivers do that. We also serve to support property management however we can and try to be a one-stop shop for our customers. What we can’t do ourselves, we can help get done through our connections. For example, the head of construction for a large grocery store we service asked if we can powerwash. So I made a call to someone we know who does a good job with that. 

We have a network of relationships with other vendors who are happy to work with me and respond quickly. For parking lot striping, asphalt seal coating, powerwashing, plumbing, electrical work, locksmith work, cleanouts, or whatever a customer needs. 

If it’s a really large job and ongoing, I try to pay my mentoring forward. For example, one of my powerwashers is a young fella trying to get into the business. I call him and let him do that work if it will be ongoing. But for a one-off job, I’ll usually just do the paperwork. It can take too long for a new service provider to get that paperwork together. You have to supply customers with the insurance documentation, business license, etc.. Written recommendations are good to have too.  

Kleen Sweep Business Model 

Kleen Sweep is a commercial powersweeping and general exterior property maintenance provider serving Kilgore, Longview, Henderson, Carthage, Marshall, Lindale, Gilmore, and the greater East Texas region. We help commercial property owners and managers, and industrial facility operators with a comprehensive range of exterior cleaning and maintenance services, including:

We have serviced a small municipality that doesn’t have their own trucks. We currently have a bid in for municipal street sweeping. We do industrial cleanup. For example, last week we swept two SWEPCO facilities for their environmental audits, and when The Gap was doing their distribution center, we would drive through the facility interior to do powersweeping.

Out of the Gate with Brand New Sweeper Trucks

I have 3 Schwarze Super Vac Updraft trucks, and recently I had 2 Mascos and sold those. They were old. I’m not sure Kleen Sweep has ever owned two brand-new trucks until now. My foreman and I flew to Alabama to meet with the people at Victory. They are so wonderful. We picked up two sweepers and drove them back to Texas. That was a trip! 

They were so gracious. We talked to everyone in the Victory office. They picked us up from the airport. Went to their business office and their facility where they put everything together. They also showed us the parts facility where we could order, even for our other brands of trucks. And, they walked us through all the features of the two vehicles. They’re beautiful. It’s like driving a movie theater.

We got back to Texas the next day. Since then, every time I pick up the phone to call them to ask what does this or that do, a mechanic gives us step-by-step instructions. They’re very responsive. 

After we got the two new trucks home, I noticed a couple of things I wished I had gotten on them. One is a magnet that goes all the way across the truck. It kind of drags the ground and picks up everything. Ao, we retrofit the bigger truck to add that. It works fabulously. 

When I purchased these two sweeper trucks, I had been looking at different types of vehicles. I wasn’t settled on Victory at the time. Though I had started kind of leaning that way, I really was just looking for a good deal. It was a big deal to buy two brand-new trucks. It was a giant leap of faith. They’ve stayed with us as we’ve been getting familiar with the trucks, and it’s all gone very smoothly for us because of that. 

Note: All Kleen Sweep trucks are equipped with a GPS system that enables thorough reporting and first-hand performance reviews by our customers and team.

Modernization & Internal Culture Change

A priority objective for us is to pull the company into the 21st century. My parents were very comfortable with their customers and income. They did things the old-fashioned way. They ran it for over 40 years. Mom used QuickBooks. She also wrote everything down. I came in yearly and did the books to close out the annual period. I saw everything she managed in those manual processes. 

So, my mom wasn’t kidding when she said she was tired. The first thing we did after taking over management was automate everything in the office and all the trucks up to inspection-ready condition. We spent a great deal of time and money doing all that. 

The first year we bought two Schwarze Updrafts. We flew up to Alabama and drove those home. Then, we looked around to see what we could do to provide a more value-added service for our customers. We want to provide them with the best customer experience possible. 

It’s a culture change for the employees. Jeremiah, our foreman has been with the company for 30 years or so, off and on. (My mother employed Jeremiah’s mother.) Karen, our only female driver, has been here around 20 years. And Daniel has been with us over 4 years.

We are focused now on a fully proactive, not reactive, approach to service. We have a group text app. Employees out in the field can take pictures on customers’ lots, send them to me, and I forward them to the property managers. We do monthly reports for property managers who want them. They’re like a scorecard for everybody involved in taking care of the property, including its signage, landscape, parking areas, etc. For managers who want pictures and reports, we’re happy to provide those as part of the service. 

The Brownings’ Kleen Sweep Company Values

Through the generations of our family, the company leadership has changed, but our core values have stayed the same for over 40 years. The entire Kleen Sweep team is committed to integrity and consistently delivering top quality services. We always strive to go beyond expectations to ensure our customers are satisfied and that we make each property look its very best. 

Our team takes care of each customer’s business as if it’s our own. Remote customers depend on us to identify and report needed repairs. When we’re asked to do the repair work, we do not rush it or take shortcuts. We finish the work promptly. And, in an emergency, our customers count on us to help when they need it. 

People have learned they can rely on us. Operating by these performance principles has built a reputation for Kleen Sweep in our area as one of the most trusted East Texas service providers in our industry. 

Advice for New US Market Entrants from Angie Browning, Owner Kleen Sweep TX LLC, Kilgore, Texas

My advice is to find a networking group. We belong to a couple of chambers of commerce. We’re such a niche business that there’s not a local group for just powersweeping companies. Longview Connections is a great local collaborative business group in our area. Their slogan is “community over competition.” We’ve got bankers, insurance agents, and all kinds of other local businesses in the group. If there’s not a group you can join in your area — make one. 

Also, make sure you have your business cards with you everywhere you go. Everywhere is an opportunity. Just look around. There are also several good Facebook groups and other social media groups where you can meet other business operators. 

We have been a female-owned family business for much of the over 40 years since the company was founded. For a long time, during my time here as a woman in a male-dominated business, I was afraid I’d sound stupid when I asked questions. But almost everyone is very kind. Put yourself out there. There are plenty of people out there willing to help you. 

NAPSA is a good organization to join. They put out a monthly newsletter, and there’s a conference call with one of the members conducting it monthly. They talk about all things important to sweeping business operators, from insurance to managing problems, like how to handle trips and falls, or how to deal with a big box store trying to contract [re: third-party], anything you can think of related to the business.

There’s a lot of information out there and people willing to share their knowledge to help. There are resources to cover the gamut of things you need to know. We always feel fortunate every time we find people who are very gracious and helpful. 

For information about Kleen Sweep TX, LLC, in Kilgore, Texas, you can call (903) 758-4844, or visit kleensweeptx.com.