William Hoover was born in 1849. As a young man, he became involved in the leather business, working as a tanner. He remained involved in the tannery business until the first decade of the twentieth century. In 1908, Hoover purchased John Murray Spangler's patent for the upright vacuum cleaner. Ultimately, Spangler's invention became known as the Hoover vacuum cleaner. Hoover was married to Spangler's first cousin, who purchased one of Spangler's early models. Intrigued by the new machine, Hoover invested in Spangler's company. He eventually became president of the Electric Suction Sweeper Company. In 1922, Hoover renamed the company the Hoover Company. Under Hoover's direction, many improvements were made in the design of the vacuum cleaner, and new sales strategies were tested. The Hoover Company's headquarters were located in North Canton, Ohio. Hoover set up agreements with stores to become dealerships for the company. The dealer received a commission for each vacuum cleaner sold.

In addition, customers were offered a free ten-day trial period to test the vacuum cleaner. This innovative marketing technique made the Hoover Company the largest vacuum cleaner manufacturer in the world. In addition, the company continued to develop innovative designs and additional attachments that made the vacuum cleaner even more appealing to consumers. bissell vs hoover vacuum cleanersHoover produced the first changeable bags for vacuum cleaners as well as steam cleaners and self-propelled vacuums.hoover water vacuum cleaner Hoover did not concentrate his business interests solely on the United States during this era. portable vacuum cleaner sharkHe opened a factory in Canada in 1911 and another in England in 1919.

To this day, many people in England refer to vacuuming as "hoovering." William Hoover died in 1932, but his company continued to prosper. During World War II, the Hoover Company switched its production from vacuum cleaners to items needed for the American war effort, such as helmet liners and bomb fuses. Hoover won numerous government awards for its contributions to the nation's war production. Once the war ended, the company returned to producing vacuum cleaners. In the 1940s, the company went from being privately owned to a publicly traded stock. In 1985, the Chicago Pacific Corporation purchased the Hoover Company. The Maytag Corporation subsequently acquired the Chicago Pacific Corporation in 1989. Today, Hoover has a total of five plants. Three are in the North Canton area, with one in El Paso, Texas, and another in Juarez, Mexico. Electric Suction Sweeper CompanyThe Hoover story begins in 1907. Murray Spangler, an inventor who worked nights as a janitor, had an asthma problem.

He called upon his inventor's creativity to find a solution to the dust that aggravated his asthma as he swept up at night. Spangler gathered a tin soap box, a fan, a sateen pillow case and a broom handle, and assembled an odd-looking, cumbersome contraption that managed to pull the dust away from the air he breathed. He quickly realized that this "suction sweeper," as he called it, had enormous sales potential, and he began seeking financial backing. W.H. "Boss" Hoover, owner of a leather goods manufacturing shop, bought the patent from Spangler in 1908, retained him as a partner, and soon had six employees assembling six units a day in a corner of the leather goods shop. “Boss” Hoover placed a small ad in the Saturday Evening Post offering 10 days’ free use of a Hoover suction sweeper to anyone who wrote and requested it. Instead of sending the cleaner directly to the potential customer, he chose a reputable store in each city that customers could purchase from. He allowed store managers to keep any commission from a resulting sale, and then offered the store the opportunity to become a Hoover vacuum dealer.

This laid the groundwork for a national dealer network which, to this day, continues to be an important channel of distribution for Hoover products. Meanwhile, engineers were designing new and improved methods of cleaning carpet. One of their most noteworthy innovations was the beater bar, introduced in 1926, which was the basis for one of the most memorable advertising slogans in history: "It beats, as it sweeps, as it cleans." Aided by strong suction, the metal bar gently tapped the carpet to loosen deeply embedded dirt, as a bristle brush rapidly swept dirt up and out of the carpet. Since then, the beater bar has gone through many tweaks and refinements and is still utilized in most Hoover vacuum cleaners today. Countless other "firsts" have been developed by Hoover engineers over the years to give consumers the most innovative and convenient features available. These include the disposable paper bag, the vacuum cleaner headlight, the self-propelled feature and the side-mounted hose feature.

Today, Hoover is part of TTI Floor Care North America, headquartered in Glenwillow, OH. As a leader in the floor-care industry, Hoover manufactures quality, high-performance vacuum cleaners for home and commercial settings. Since 1908, consumers and businesses have trusted Hoover to provide reliable, innovative cleaning solutions. Hoover offers a comprehensive line of products for general and special-purpose vacuuming, including full-size uprights and canisters, deep cleaners and hard-floor cleaners. In 2007, Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd. (TTI) acquired the Hoover floor care business from Whirlpool Corporation. Adding the iconic Hoover brand to TTI’s portfolio created TTI Floor Care North America, at inception, the largest floor care company in North America. TTI Floor Care North America is dedicated to becoming an industry leader in every floor care category. TTI’s principle areas of business are power tools, outdoor power equipment, floor care appliances, solar-powered lighting and electronic measuring products.