In 1973, John P. Sanders founded what was to become Power Kleen after the chemical company he was working for closed its doors. When the company's former clientele contacted John to ask if he could help complete projects his previous company had not finished, John's loyalty to his former customers compelled him to help complete the projects (gratis). Soon thereafter, these companies asked John if he had any interest in remaining in the industry and becoming their chemical supplier. It was at this time that John began distributing chemicals. Over the next few years, John built a small client base and his distributorship grew into the custom blending of chemicals to fit his customers' needs.

In 1975, John formulated his first all-purpose cleaning chemical, Magic, which his young children named for its ability to magically remove the ketchup John had doused his wife's blouse with in their kitchen sink. Although the blouse-dousing was met with much resistance at first, shortly thereafter, his wife, Joyce, became the company's first receptionist and bookkeeper for Power Kleen, which they incorporated in 1979 in the state of Florida.

By 1979, John was single-handedly blending and formulating more than a dozen degreasers and industrial cleaners while expanding his customer base throughout the state of Florida. John's study of Chemistry at Hamilton University, New York, and Harvard University, Boston, provided John with the knowledge to expand his business as a growing distributor to a manufacturer of quality cleaning chemicals, and in 1980 John built a modest 4,000 square foot facility, which included offices, a warehouse, and a full laboratory in Oldsmar, Florida, where their corporate headquarters remains today. Once John had a fully equipped lab at his daily disposal, he began formulating products for a variety of industries, and his workforce grew from a literal Mom and Pop consisting of Joyce and John, to six employees. They also expanded into the Pressure Washing Sales and Service Industry this same year.

By 1984, Power Kleen had expanded its facility by adding 4,000 square feet of warehouse and manufacturing space to accommodate the growing needs of the company, as well as the customers' growing demands for Power Kleen products. The next two years marks a time of great expansion for the newly incorporated Power Kleen: the acquisition of Trichem Industries (1983), Patton Parts Washers (1984), E-Z Parts Washers (1984), and Richette Corporation/Al-Be Chemicals (1985).

Yet, it was in 1986 that Power Kleen made its first major acquisition––Power Kleen Corporation––which solidified Power Kleen' place in the Industrial Chemical and Pressure Washing Industries in Florida. In this same year, Power Kleen Corp entered the Ready Mix Concrete Industry with John's formulation of Right Off, a specially designed ready mix truck wash and concrete remover, which cemented his place as an innovator in the Ready Mix Industry.

By 1988, the demands of the business led to the addition of another 4,000 square feet of warehouse and manufacturing space at the corporate center, and in this year Power Kleen Corporation made its first acquisition––Specialty Chemical & Equipment Corporation––which marks the first of many strong additions to the newly merged Power Kleen family. From 1988 to 1993, Power Kleen continued to strengthen their foothold on the Florida market with the acquisitions of Tampa Bay Chemical (1990), MAC Distributors (1992), and Johnson & Johnson Supply (1993).

Yet it was the 1993 acquisition of Bell Chemical that launched Power Kleen from a leader in the Florida market to a national competitor in the wholesale market with nation-wide distributors and a growing national customer base. As a reputable wholesaler in the Florida market and due to Power Kleen's recent expansion into a variety of industries, by 1993 Power Kleen was well on their way to becoming a leader in the Industrial Chemical Industry nationally. The specially formulated products and services John Sanders and his growing team of sales and service associates, now 30 years strong, was becoming well-known throughout the U.S. in the Construction, Trucking, Pressure Washing, Sanitation, Janitorial, Food Service, Automotive, and Waste Water & Reclaim Industries for their quality products and exceptional customer care.

In the past seventeen years, the Power Kleen family has continued to expand their facilities and currently utilizes over 25,000 square feet of space on a daily basis at their corporate center in Oldsmar, Florida. They have continued their acquisitions and have purchased nineteen more companies in that time: D & J Enterprises (1990), Halt Products (1995), Dealer's Choice (1995), National Distributors (1995), Tim McMillan & Company (1996), Southwest Marine (1998), Dave Chemical (1999), Chem-Shoppe (2000), Typhoon Industries, Inc./Hotsy of Tampa (2000), Jansen Brush (2000), Better Brush (2002), Jem-Co (2003), Sanitary Chemical (2003), Pressure Solutions (2005), Chem-Star (2006), Florida Water Blast (2007), Eastern Chemical Products (2010), KNT Enterprises (2010), Environmental Cleaning Technology, Inc. (2011), Central Florida Chemical (2011), Early Janitorial Supply (2013), Brite 'N Rite (2013), J.R. Enterprises (2014) and Bill Brown, Inc. (2014). Power Kleen proudly added many of these highly experienced and knowledgeable company owners and sales associates to our family of sales and service teams in Florida and across the U.S.

Aside from the growth of the Power Kleen family and facilities, the company's continued dedication to research, development, innovation, and technological progress in the Industrial Chemical Industry is evident in the number of differing formulated products (which has reached the 1,000 product landmark) they provide to their customers today. Their innovation in Green and Eco-Friendly products since 2005, as well as their exceptionally trained fleet drivers, national sales force, and in-house customer service associates continue to set them apart from companies in the Industrial Chemical Industry today.