Our Story
Nisly Brothers Company History Part I- “The Early Years: 1956-1986”
In 1956, Menno Nisly, a part-time farmer with an entrepreneurial mind had a vision for providing the community with an essential service. Menno saw an opportunity to serve the Hutchinson area through trash collection and started Nisly Brothers with help from his brother Jonas. Menno expressed his vision for honoring God and serving others with this motto from Ecclesiastes: “Whatever you do, do it well.” Menno started out by contracting with the City of Hutchinson to provide waste collection to multiple businesses in Hutchinson.
As a part-time hog farmer, Menno would collect food waste from restaurants and day-old bread from bakeries in Hutchinson to feed to his hogs. Menno was frugal and happy to repurpose the discarded food waste and day-old bread for his hogs. This continued for many years until the labor-intensive process of sorting food waste from trash no longer made this venture cost-effective. During this time Menno realized he had to choose between Nisly Brothers or his part-time farming. Although Menno enjoyed many years of farming, he decided to discontinue his farming to focus on Nisly Brothers.
In those early days, trucks had little capacity for trash because they had no compacting mechanism. Two Nisly employees would lift the trash barrel in through the side and dump the contents into the truck.
However, in 1973, Nisly Brothers began pursuing containerized waste collection. Menno purchased several rear load trash containers from the City of Hutchinson when Hutchinson decided to discontinue commercial trash service. He also purchased Nisly Brothers’ first rear-loading truck, which included compacting machinery to allow for more trash capacity.
Nisly Brothers served many commercial customers in Hutchinson and also began serving municipalities in western Reno County including Plevna, Sylvia, Abbyville, and Partridge. Menno also bought a roll-off truck and four roll-off containers. The initial roll-off containers were 12 and 16 cubic yards and were considerably smaller than the 20, 30, and 40 cubic yard containers Nisly Brothers currently offers. However, this was a big step for Nisly Brothers as it paved the way for larger trash items as well as clean-up or construction projects.
Nisly Brothers Company History Part II- “Expansion and Retirement: 1987-2002”
In 1987, Nisly Brothers expanded containerized waste collection services by offering the first residential trash carts. Nisly Brothers recognized a need in the local area for residential trash carts as a convenience to customers, an increase in efficiency, and a safety improvement for employees loading trash. Nisly Brothers also began stocking commercial containers to better serve the needs of businesses in the area.
The 1990’s brought a greater environmental awareness and the beginning of residential curbside recycling for Nisly Brothers. Nisly Brothers chose to offer recycling as a sustainable waste collection option for residential customers.
The 90’s also brought increased regulations for landfills, and as a result, in 1993, Kingman County chose to close their county landfill and exit the trash collection industry, referring their former customers to Nisly Brothers instead. Nisly Brothers began widespread residential service in Kingman County and also contracted with various cities in the county.
Nisly Brothers continued to expand into new service areas. After expanding into Kingman County, Nisly Brothers continued fielding requests for trash service across south central Kansas. To continue serving the community, Nisly Brothers responded to those requests and began service in Stafford County and Pratt County.
In 2002, founder Menno Nisly retired and sold the business to three of his sons: Harold, Marvin, and Arnold.
While Menno transitioned the business to his sons, he also passed along his vision of giving your all to serve others. Even, after his “retirement,” Menno remained involved in the business as a delivery driver, when needed, for nearly a decade. His motto, “Whatever you do, do it well,” had helped establish Nisly Brothers as a company focused on quality service and customer care.
Nisly Brothers Company History Part III- “Vision and Future: 2003-Current“
Menno’s son, Marvin, as President and CEO carried his father’s vision into a new chapter by striving to serve the community well. In the early 2000’s, Nisly Brothers opened a new chapter of efficiency and employee safety with automated side load trucks and front load trucks joining the fleet. Then a few years later, Nisly Brothers took another step of expansion by diversifying to include portable toilets to enhance construction site services.
The 2000’s also brought increased demand for environmentally friendly services. Nisly Brothers saw a need in the community for better recycling programs and began offering residential single stream recycling and commercial cardboard recycling.
In 2011, to expand the portable toilet line, Nisly Brothers purchased a luxury restroom trailer as an elite option for special events.
From 2011-2017, Nisly Brothers contracted residential trash and recycle collection with the cities of Greensburg, Haviland, Medicine Lodge, Macksville, Haven, Hesston, Hardtner, Halstead, and South Hutchinson. During that time, Nisly Brothers also expanded services into Harvey County with both commercial and residential trash and recycling services.
In March of 2021, Nisly Brothers celebrated its 65th anniversary. Menno Nisly established a legacy of quality service and customer care that his sons Harold, Marvin, and Arnold have carried and built into Nisly Brothers’ reputation for exceptional quality service. In 2021, Marvin’s son Jordan transitioned from driver to Office Manager and part-owner. In 2024, Jordan became Director of Operations and hopes to carry his father and grandfather’s legacy of serving others to the next generation of Nisly Brothers.
