Sanderson MacLeod Photo

Nestled in the former mill town of Palmer, some 120 employees at Sanderson MacLeod make twisted wire brushes for everything from cosmetics to firearms to medical equipment.

The 106-year-old contract manufacturer thrives on flexibility and meeting unique customer needs – the company maintains a state-of-the-art Brush Innovation Center to provide rapid prototyping, custom automation, and exclusive material options, supported by FDA-certified manufacturing and expert supply chain integration.

Now, Sanderson MacLeod has been named a recipient of the Excellence in Manufacturing Award from Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM). The award is presented monthly to a Massachusetts manufacturing company that has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to operational excellence, innovative production techniques, workforce training, economic opportunity and service to the community.

AIM will honor Sanderson MacLeod during a visit to the company on September 10.

Sanderson MacLeod began in 1920 as Better Brush and later became Specialty Brush when Ken Sanderson and Bruce MacLeod recognized that a growing number of applications needed a more specialized approach to brush design than could be found in the traditional catalogs. With six employees and an empty storefront on Main Street, the two entrepreneurs founded Specialty Brush and began providing customized brush solutions.

Sanderson MacLeod made the decision early on to manufacture only for Original Equipment Manufacturing customers. That model enables the development of strong partnerships with customers, keeps costs down, allows the company to invest in people, equipment and technology and to continually improve operations in terms of speed, quality, reliability, cost savings, and engineering design.

The company remains a key element of the economy in eastern Hampden County and has been a leader in establishing pathways to manufacturing careers.  Sanderson’s TWIST program (Technical Work Instruction and Skills Training) gives local high school students the opportunity to learn directly from experienced industry professionals in an authentic manufacturing environment while developing practical skills needed for careers in advanced manufacturing.

“On the future of manufacturing, I think we have some rough roads ahead of it. There are a lot people who don’t realize how important it is that we make things,” said Mark N. Borsari, Sanderson MacLeod’s CEO.

“We are a durable goods manufacturer in a very competitive industry. Our only viable strategy is to creatively produce quality products in a way that is faster and more efficient than ever before.”

The art and science of manufacturing built the Massachusetts economy, from the Springfield Armory pioneering the use of interchangeable parts in 1777 to bioscience companies like Takeda producing state-of-the-art medicines in the Commonwealth today. And though manufacturing companies employ about half the number of people they did three decades ago, the sector remains a critical conduit for economic opportunity and advancement.

It’s one of the reasons that AIM devotes much of its public-policy efforts to supporting manufacturers in areas such as taxation, sustainability, energy and regulation.

Approximately 230,000 people work at manufacturing companies in Massachusetts, 7 percent of the Commonwealth’s total non-farm payroll. Manufacturing is expected to contribute $64 billion in economic output this year – 9.6 percent of the Massachusetts gross state product.

In Greater Springfield, where Sanderson MacLeod operates, 16,900 people draw paychecks from manufacturing companies, an increase of 1.2 percent from June 2025 to June 2026. Manufacturing workers in the region earn anywhere from $38,000 to more than $100,000 per year depending on skill level.

Borsari said the COVID-19 pandemic helped to illustrate the character of Sanderson MacLeod and the significance of the company in the community.

“You really get to see what people are made of. I’m grateful when I look back because I think that we’re from a small, rural town in Massachusetts. We’re stubborn and we don’t really give in,” he said.

“For us, it was a matter of commitment to our clients who depend on us to get product to them that we didn’t go home, that we worked through it.”