COMPANY·HISTORIES
SIC 3635

Household Vacuum Cleaners

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

16companies1883–1968founding years16still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironment
FoundedVorwerk & Co.FoundedVorwerk & Co.
1883
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedRoyal Appliance Manufacturing CompanyFoundedRoyal Appliance Manufacturing Company
1905
1908
TechnologyThe Ford Model T brings the automobile to the middle class.
FoundedThe Eureka CompanyFoundedThe Eureka Company
1910
1913
EconomyThe Federal Reserve is created.
FoundedScott Fetzer CompanyFoundedScott Fetzer Company
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedAktiebolaget ElectroluxFoundedAktiebolaget Electrolux
1919
FoundedMaytag CorporationFoundedMaytag Corporation
1925
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression begins.
1933
EconomyNew Deal reforms reshape banking and industry.
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long postwar expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented at Bell Labs.
FoundedMoulinex S.A.FoundedMoulinex S.A.
1953
1956
EconomyThe Interstate Highway program remakes commerce.
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedHMI Industries, Inc.FoundedHMI Industries, Inc.
1968
1970
EnvironmentThe EPA is founded; environmental regulation expands.
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; Nasdaq opens.
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins with the Altair.
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall 22% in a single day.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2001
EconomyThe September 11 attacks; a recession follows.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 begin to take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Vorwerk & Co. →
Active · founded 1883 · Germany
For more than 100 years, Vorwerk & Co.
Vorwerk & Co. →
Active · founded 1883 · Germany
For more than 100 years, Vorwerk & Co.
Royal Appliance Manufacturing Company →
Active · founded 1905
Best known for its Dirt Devil brand vacuum cleaners, Royal Appliance Manufacturing Company is one of the world's oldest…
Royal Appliance Manufacturing Company →
Active · founded 1905
Best known for its Dirt Devil brand vacuum cleaners, Royal Appliance Manufacturing Company is one of the world's oldest…
The Eureka Company →
Active · founded 1910
The Eureka Company is one of the oldest names in the vacuum cleaner industry and is widely acknowledged as one of its…
The Eureka Company →
Active · founded 1910
The Eureka Company is one of the oldest names in the vacuum cleaner industry and is widely acknowledged as one of its…
Scott Fetzer Company →
Active · founded 1914
The best-known of Scott Fetzer Company's businesses in the mid-1990s included World Book encyclopedias and Kirby vacuum…
Scott Fetzer Company →
Active · founded 1914
The best-known of Scott Fetzer Company's businesses in the mid-1990s included World Book encyclopedias and Kirby vacuum…
Aktiebolaget Electrolux →
Active · founded 1919 · Sweden
To the average consumer, the name Electrolux says two things: vacuum cleaners and refrigerators.
Aktiebolaget Electrolux →
Active · founded 1919 · Sweden
To the average consumer, the name Electrolux says two things: vacuum cleaners and refrigerators.
Maytag Corporation →
Active · founded 1925
Maytag Corporation is one of the leading appliance manufacturers in the United States.
Maytag Corporation →
Active · founded 1925
Maytag Corporation is one of the leading appliance manufacturers in the United States.
Moulinex S.A. →
Active · founded 1953 · France
Moulinex S.A., the once proud leader of the European small household appliance market, has seen troubled times for most…
Moulinex S.A. →
Active · founded 1953 · France
Moulinex S.A., the once proud leader of the European small household appliance market, has seen troubled times for most…
HMI Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1968
Known until early 1995 as Health-Mor Inc., HMI Industries has diversified from its core in high-end vacuum cleaners to…
HMI Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1968
Known until early 1995 as Health-Mor Inc., HMI Industries has diversified from its core in high-end vacuum cleaners to…
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