Eureka Overseas

[paul]

Llimited information regarding Eurekas made and/or marketed beyond the US—even in Canada—is available on this website or others. So, here's an attempt to change that.

According to what I've read, Eureka had offices in London and Sydney beginning in the late 1910s and early 1920s. I'm unaware of any other overseas offices and/or factories.

Following are most of the photos I happened to find on the US-made/UK marketed Deluxe model posted online at:

https://trevorhowsam.com/thb1245-vacuum-cleaner-eureka-deluxe-1920s/

The Deluxe Model for US consumers was distributed from 1931 to 1934, so it would seem that the UK version was, too.

 

[eurekaprince]

Later on in its history, Eureka vacuums were sold in other countries under other brandnames and sometimes even made locally:

In the UK, the MobilAire canister was sold under the Parnell name. And much more recently…in the 2000’s….some Eureka and Sanitaire uprights were sold under the Electrolux name.

In Mexico, modified versions of the Princess and the Sweet Sixteen were sold under the Koblenz name.

In France, many Eureka canisters were sold under the Singer name.

In Argentina, the Crown Princess and other Princess canisters were sold under the Yelmo name.

And finally, in Australia, the 1950’s RotoMatic was sold under another name which escapes me now….

 

[eurekaprince]

Found it: in Australia a modified Eureka RotoMatic was sold as the “Pye Rotovac”….

 

[paul]

Thanks, Brian. So did each country at one point have its own factory or were they made and exported from the U.S. and assembled in other countries?

Also, when did Onward Manufacturing discontinue its affiliation with Eureka?

 

[hoover300]

Either before or after this one they did a ball bearing(what would be a model K power plant) with the head of a model 11. They seem to be more common than the deluxe.
Vac pictured owned by Jack Copp but there are others online. Note the round fan case and front height adjuster.

 

[hoover300]

Actually its more like a Deluxe with ball bearings. Note how there is only a hole in the wheel bracket for an oil wick but no wick in the motor, but it has the model D handle system.
I've never seen a motor brush Eureka from the 30s in England, doesn't mean they didn't exist but they would be incredibly rare.

 

[eurekaprince]

Hi Paul,

I get the sense that there was one person at Eureka’s headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois that was in charge of selling Eureka’s designs and blueprints to other appliance manufacturers around the world. The guy in charge must have travelled a lot as this was well before the internet era!!!! But all he/she had to do was drive up to Chicago’s O’Hare airport to catch a flight anywhere!!!!

There seemed to be two processes at work here: either the rebranded cleaners were created at the American factory and shipped overseas, or the designs were bought by the overseas company and made locally. You can actually tell the difference just by how similar the cleaner is to the American version. It looks like the American factory created the European models (Electrolux, Parnall, Singer). The Argentinian Yelmos look very similar to the originals, so I think these were also made in the USA. For Koblenz and Pye, the designs are somewhat different, and so I think these were made in Mexico and Australia.

Regarding Canada and the Onward Manufacturing plant in Kitchener: the key development that signalled the end of its production of Eurekas (and department store Vikings and Beaumarks) was the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and President Ronald Reagan sometime in the mid 1980’s. With this agreement in place, American vacuum manufacturers were free to export cleaners to Canada - as long as they provided labelling and instruction manuals in French as well as English. Actually, the documentation produced (including packages of bags and belts) became trilingual at this time to accommodate exports to Mexico as well. You’ll notice dust bag packages starting to show “bag + sacs + bolsas” at this time.

This meant that there was no longer a need for separate factories in Canada and many Canadians lost a lot of jobs once the following factories closed: Hoover in Hamilton, Eureka in Kitchener, Electrolux in Montreal. The FTA also meant the end of our department store brands of Eaton Viking and Beaumark in Hudson Bay Company stores.

 

[paul]

Thanks for your responses, Brian and Hoover300. I was hoping to hear from you both—Brian, your vast knowledge of post-WWII Eurekas—domestic and foreign—always adds depth to any Eureka conversation, and Hoover300, I appreciate your detailed knowledge of pre-WWII US and overseas Eurekas, as well!

Hopefully, some of our vacuum cleaner collector/enthusiast neighbors from other continents will post photos and information of their Eurekas/rebrands on VL.

One item I've noticed is that the Eureka's UK logotypes were different than the US's. I wonder if the Australian one was unique to its market, as well?