The 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 soapbox, a fan, a sateen pillowcase 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 that, to this day, remains 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, Ohio. 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. This industry giant is headquartered in Hong Kong, but maintains a customer servicing network in North America, Europe and Australia, and currently employs more than 20,000 people worldwide.

Learn more at www.ttifloorcare.com