The Hoover Company - Development

Development

Faced with a total lack of interest by the public in his expensive and unfamiliar new gadget, Hoover placed an ad in the Saturday Evening Post offering customers ten days free use of his vacuum cleaner to anyone who requested it. Using a network of local retailers to facilitate the offer, Hoover thus developed a national network of retailers for the vacuums. By the end of 1908, the company had sold 372 Model 0s. By 1912, sales had been made to Norway, France, Russia, Belgium, Holland and Scotland.

In 1919, Gerald Page-Wood – an art director of Erwin, Wasey & Company, Hoover's advertising agency – came up with a succinct slogan which summed up the Hoover's cleaning action - 'It Beats...as it Sweeps...as it Cleans'. At this time, it referred to the action of the revolving brushes, which vibrated the carpet and helped loosen the trodden-in grit. This offered an advantage over competitors machines, which used suction alone to remove dirt, and therefore were not as efficient as The Hoover. Seven years later, the famous slogan was to take on even more significance.

Hoover's business began to flourish, and, a year after Hoover acquired the patent from Spangler, he established a research and development department for his new business. By 1926, Hoover had developed the 'beater bar' - a metal bar attached to the rotating brush roll, situated in the floor nozzle cavity of the upright vacuum cleaner. Introduced on Models 543 and 700, the beater bars alternated with the sweeping brushes to vibrate dirt and grit trapped in carpet fibers. It provided a more distinct 'tap' than the bristle tufts used on the former machines, and led to a 101% increase in efficiency. This cleaning action was marketed by Hoover as "Positive Agitation". 'It Beats...as it Sweeps...as it Cleans' rang more true now than ever.

In 1929, Hoover introduced the Model 200 Duster. This would be their first attempt at a cylinder cleaner. It utilized a Model 575 motor with a modified suction impeller, which was mounted on a unique aluminum body featuring runners, allowing the cleaner to be pulled behind the user. The Duster was produced for only three months and roughly 9,000 were made.

Herbert W. Hoover, Sr. took over as president of the company in 1922 and as Chairman of the Board of the Hoover Company in 1932. In 1932, Hoover introduced a new feature - an optional headlamp, called the Hoover Hedlite, on Models 425, 750 and 900. By March 1932, it had become standard equipment on Models 750 and 900, and a $5 extra-cost option on Model 425. The Hoover Hedlite illuminated the floor ahead of the cleaner, useful for dimly-lit rooms and corridors, and under furniture. This feature brought in several new slogans, including 'It shows you the dirt you never knew you had!', and 'It lights where it's going...it's clean where it's gone!'.

In 1936, Hoover unveiled the Model 150, "the first basically new cleaner in ten years", which was the most modern machine of its time. It included such innovations as a time to empty bag indicator; automatic height adjustment; a magnesium body, which made it weigh less than previous models; instant tool conversion; and a two-speed motor. One of the first Dreyfuss designs for Hoover, it was the symbol of the machine age; the beautiful Bakelite hood hid the entire motor from view and there were no protruding knobs or gadgets. It was the first Hoover cleaner that was not of the traditional "coffee can" style, which Hoover had been using since its earliest years. The cleaner sold from 1936 to 1939 and was priced at $80 (which is about $1,500 to $2,000 in today's money). It was Hoover's top-of-the-line cleaner. Two other lower priced Hoovers sold along with it: the Model 25 (1937–38), which was the middle of the line cleaner priced at $65; and the Model 300 (1935–38) which became the bottom of the line cleaner and sold at $49.75. Due to the backdrop of the Depression, Hoover produced only 166,000 150s in its three year production run. It is considered one of the rarest Hoover cleaners, and is sought after by vacuum collectors.

From 1941 to 1945, Hoover ceased all vacuum cleaner production and converted the North Canton, Ohio factory to support the war effort. When the war ended in 1945, Hoover started producing cleaners again and unveiled the Model 27 for post-war America to enjoy.

In 1950, Hoover introduced the Veriflex, which was the first rubberized suction hose in the industry. Other cleaners at the time were using cloth-braided hoses, which would deteriorate and lose suction over time.

In 1954 Herbert W. Hoover Jr. took over the presidency of the company from his father. A nephew of the founder, H. Earl Hoover, also served as chairman and honorary director.

The sombre and restrained colors of the previous decades gave way to bright, striking modern color-schemes, starting with the Hoover Model 29 in 1950, which was red instead of the regular black and brown colors of the past. This was part of their policy of the continual development and modernization of their output.

In 1957 Hoover introduced the Convertible Model 65 (the De Luxe 652 in the UK). It was the last machine designed by Henry Dreyfuss, the industrial designer who had worked with the company since the early 1930s. This cleaner introduced a feature Hoover termed 'Automatic Shift' – a system whereby the tool converter plugged into the rear of the cleaner. This wasn't a new idea – instant tool conversion had been introduced in 1936 with the Model 150 Cleaning Ensemble. However, new to Model 65 – and slightly later in Britain on the 652A - was the introduction of a switch which automatically shifted the motor to a higher speed as the converter was inserted. The Convertible – or the Senior, in Britain – remains Hoover's worldwide best-selling cleaner. Although the domestic line was finally discontinued in 1993, a version called the Guardsman is still available in the commercial sector.

1963 saw the introduction of the Dial-A-Matic in the US – sold in Australia as the Dynamatic, and in Britain, confusingly, as the Convertible. This was the first ever clean-air upright cleaner. The clean-air principle is similar to the flow of air through a cylinder/canister cleaner. Rather than the dirt passing directly through the suction fan and being blown into the bag, it passes through the bag first, leaving only clean air to pass through the fan. This principle was soon adopted by many manufacturers, and continues to be used today. Also, the machine was constructed out of hard plastic, so the paper bag was safe from being ruptured by bumping into furniture, and a 'check bag' indicator was introduced in later models. Hoover produced this cleaner from 1963 until the late 1970s in America.

Hoover further refined the Dial-A-Matic's design in 1969, when they launched the 'Powerdrive' self-propulsion system on the Hoover model 1170. This idea took a lot of the effort out of pushing the cleaner, because, by using a system of gears, belts and cables, the cleaner used its own power to drive itself forward and backwards, as directed by the user though the 'Triple-Action' handgrip. It was so efficient, the user could drive the heavy cleaner forward with a single finger. This extra technology made the Dial-A-Matic even heavier than the original, and at around $150, it was very expensive. The 'Powerdrive' system was carried over into the Concept range, which replaced the Dial-A-Matic line in 1978.

In 1986 the Hoover family sold the company. It was acquired by Maytag Corporation in 1989.

On Friday, 6 March 2009, Hoover confirmed that it was to cease production of washing machines and other laundry products at its Merthyr Tydfil factory, South Wales from Saturday, 14 March 2009; giving the reason, the company stated that it could no longer manufacture competitively priced laundry products at the plant.

Hoover had initially announced its closure intentions on Tuesday, 18 November 2008, beginning a period of staff consultation. The company was established in the town over sixty years ago, its factory at Pentrebach, Merthyr Tydfil, opening on 12 October 1948.

Though 337 jobs were be lost because of this decision, Hoover UK anticipated retaining its headquarters, logistics, storage and after sales service functions at the site, with some 113 workers retained.