William Hoover: Putting Vacuum Cleaners in the Mainstream

William Hoover was an American industrialist who was born in 1849. He worked as a tanner in a local leather store while he was a boy. He was involved in tannery business until the early twentieth century. Hoover’s first crack at business took place in 1908 when he acquired the patent rights of John Murray Spangler for the upright vacuum cleaner.

Eventually, Spangler’s invention became known as Hoover vacuum cleaner. Hoover, who was married to Spangler’s first cousin, became interested in the earlier models of the vacuum cleaner. Hoover invested in Spangler’s company and later became connected with the Electric Suction Sweeper Company as president.

Hoover changed the company’s name to Hoover Company in 1922. While at the helm of Hoover Company, he improved the design of the vacuum cleaners and developed new sales strategies. Hoover entered into dealership agreements with store owners. He awarded commissions to the dealers for each vacuum cleaner sold. Customers were offered ten days of free trial. Because of his innovative marketing strategies, Hoover Company became the world’s largest vacuum cleaner manufacturer.

In spite of his successes, Hoover kept on innovating and improving his precious commodity to make it more appealing to customers. One of his earlier innovations were the vacuum cleaners with replaceable bags, the self-propelled vacuums, and the steam cleaners.

Hoover looked to expand his business internationally. In 1911, he opened a manufacturing facility in Canada and in England in 1919. No wonder why in England, using the vacuum is also called “hoovering.”

Despite his death in 1932, Hoover Company continued to succeed. To help the US armed forces during the World War II, Hoover Company shifted from producing vacuum cleaners to war components such as bomb fuses and helmet liners.

William Hoover was a recipient of a number of awards for his contribution to the US government’s war efforts. After the World War II, Hoover Company went back to the production of its flagship products – vacuum cleaners.

Hoover Company held its IPO in the 1940s and in 1985, it was acquired by Chicago Pacific Corporation. Meanwhile, in 1989, Chicago Pacific Corporation was purchased by Maytag Corporation.