Monday, April 2, 2007

Hoover Sold, Bought, Sold Again in January and Now Closing it's North Canton Doors


Do you own a Hoover Vacuum Cleaner? If not, you know the name, like the rest of us. Well, after 100 years in operation in Stark County/North Canton, it will be no more. As of September, Hoover will shut down it's plant and join Rubbermaid as a former Ohio manufacturing company. 100 years is a long time and this is sad news. The news report I heard (WKYC local news) said Stark County will lose 15 percent of their tax revenue when the 800 workers lose their jobs. Unless of course they can find new jobs in Akron. Can Akron absorb that many jobs? At least some of the employees were offered to keep their jobs and transfer to Texas. TTI Floorcare bought out the operation from Whirlpool a few months ago, and this is the result of that change in ownership.

TTI is building some kind of a research/development center in Solon which will employ about 100 people. That still gives us a deficit of 700 jobs. Sigh. You may also remember that Dirt Devil became part of the Hoover operations when TTI bought Hoover.

It's ironic. At the time, here is what TTI said: "...TTI is combining Hoover with its existing Dirt Devil operations in Glenwillow, Ohio. The company also will establish its global research and development facility in Glenwillow, adding a minimum of 110 new jobs during the next three years..."

And then: "We're proud to tell the world that Ohio is now home to TTI Floor Care, North America's largest floor care business," said Joseph Galli, Jr., chief executive officer of Techtronic Appliances Holding Co. Ltd., TTI's global floor care and appliances division. "We have had intensive and productive discussions with the State of Ohio over the past two weeks. State officials are concentrated on enhancing Ohio's economic health and in creating good employment opportunities for Ohioans. TTI is focused on bringing together the combined operations and brands of Dirt Devil and Hoover to create a strong and growing leader in the global floor care business. Our discussions have shown these goals to be in alignment." (two quotes provided by Lexdon Business Library's website) This was back in January, folks. Sigh, again.

Peace Out - 3C