The Hoover Company
The Hoover Company is an American floor care manufacturer based in
North Canton,
Ohio. For most of the early-and-mid-
1900s, it dominated the electric
vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the "hoover" brand name became synonymous for vacuum cleaners and vacuuming in the
United Kingdom. The Hoover Company in the
United States was currently part of the
Whirlpool Corporation. Hoover U.K. (split from Hoover U.S. in
1993) was owned and operated by the
Brugherio, Italy-based
Candy S.p.A.The first Hoover
vacuum was invented by a
Canton,
Ohio department store janitor named James Murray Spangler, who devised a crude vacuum cleaner using a soap box, electric motor, broom handle, and pillow case in
1907. Spangler suffered from asthma attacks, and he suspected the carpet sweeper he was using at work was the cause of his ailment.
Spangler then gave one of the vacuums to a friend, Susan Hoover, who used it at her home. Impressed with the machine, she told her husband about it. Her husband was W.H. "Boss" Hoover, a leather-goods manufacturer in
North Canton, then called
New Berlin. Hoover bought the patent from Spangler in
1908 and retained Spangler as a partner in the new vacuum cleaner business.
Hoover then placed an ad in the
Saturday Evening Post offering customers 10 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. Over time, his company's sales expanded globally, and, in British English, the word "Hoover" became a verb meaning "to vacuum a floor".
Hoover's business flourished, and, a year after Hoover acquired the patent from Spangler, he established a research and development department for his new business. In
1926, Hoover invented the "beater bar", a rotating brush and metal bar mechanism at the bottom of the vacuum to loosen dirt trapped in carpets. Ten years later, in 1936, Hoover got another patent -- this time for a new self-propelling mechanism for vacuum cleaners.
Over the years, Hoover diversified into other product lines, including kitchen appliances, hair dryers, and industrial equipment.
The company was owned by the Hoover family until the
1940s, when it then became a publicly traded company. The company's stock was first traded on
August 6,
1943. In
1985, the company was purchased by Chicago Pacific Corporation and, in
1989, Chicago Pacific was purchased by Maytag.
In
1992, the British division of Hoover announced the
Hoover free flights promotion, the demand for which rose far beyond the company's expectations, resulting in major costs and public relations problems for the British division and
Maytag, which eventually led to its sale to the Italian manufacturer
Candy.In
1993,
Sandy Jack became the first person in the
United Kingdom to take Hoover to court over the
Hoover free flights promotion. Upon the decision in Hoover v. Sandy Jack at
Sheriff Court in
Kirkcaldy,
Fife, a precedent is set. Hoover Holiday Pressure Group furthered
court action against Hoover at St. Helens in
Lancashire.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 all white-collar jobs at Hoover's North Canton location would be eliminated. The company had previously closed another manufacturing facility in
Jackson Township, Ohio (q.v.
Stark County, Ohio.)
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.
*
Sandy Jack*
Hoover free flights promotion*
Marketing*
Hoover official site (US)*
Hoover official site (UK)*
Hoover official site (Canada)*
Hoover official site (Italy)*
Maytag official site*
The Vintage Hoover Emporium 
