The Hoover Company - Ownership Transitions

Ownership Transitions

The company became publicly traded in the 1940s. Stock in Hoover was first sold on August 6, 1943, allowing the company to expand. In 1985, Hoover was purchased by the Chicago Pacific Corporation, and in 1989, Chicago Pacific was purchased by Maytag.

In 1993, the Hoover Trading Company and Hoover UK merged to become the Hoover European Appliances Group. In 1995, Candy Group acquired the Hoover European Appliances Group in its entirety with the exclusive rights on the brand for the whole of Europe (including all territories of the former-Soviet Union), North Africa and selected countries in the Middle East.

In 2004, Maytag announced that it would consolidate its corporate office and back office operations in Newton, Iowa and close almost all of Hoover's overlapping functions. This effectively meant that most white-collar jobs at Hoover's North Canton location would be eliminated. The company had previously closed another manufacturing facility in Jackson Township, Stark County, Ohio, and the facility was sold to a church. Like many manufacturing companies in the U.S., Hoover is facing pressures as consumers demand lower-priced goods. Hoover has operations in Mexico, where operating costs are lower than in the U.S.

After Maytag was acquired by Whirlpool in 2006, that firm reached an agreement to sell Hoover to Hong Kong, China-based firm Techtronic Industries. TTI has announced its intention to close the original plant in North Canton in September 2007.