HOOVER FACTORY CAMBUSLANG VIDEO

[sensotronic]

Hello,

I've just uploaded the Back To The Floor BBC documentary from 2002 filmed in the Hoover Cambuslang vacuum cleaner factory.

The programme shows various cleaners being assembled including the Turbopower 2, Telios, Purepower and Acenta.

The cleaners weren't as good as they used to be, but they were better than the Chinese assembled machines we have today.

 

[uksausage]

tragic

just watched it its sad to know that at the time they had no idea that the factory would close totally,
CANDY what have you done to the hoover company

 

[sensotronic]

I think a lot of the employees would have had an idea that their jobs were in the balance, especially the staff that had been with the company since the 70's when thousands were employed. Even getting the contract to assemble a new model meant that their jobs were safe for a while, but it was only a matter of time.

Even without the free flights fiasco that lost Hoover a great deal of money causing the then parent company Maytag to sell it to Candy, I think that production would have been moved to China anyway. If Maytag still owned Hoover before selling to Whirlpool and then TTI, we would have still seen Hoover jobs moved to China.

 

[kirbymodel2c]

So...

So what year did the factory end up closing?

James)

 

[ultraperformer]

I love your videos Rodger thanks for uploading them.

 

[sensotronic]

James, the plant closed on July 22 2005. You will see a brief history of the Cambuslang factory if you read the
full description on the video page.

Dan, glad you like the videos. I have loads more to upload but it's quite time consuming as I have to transfer a lot of it from VHS to DVD, convert the DVD to mp4 format and then upload them. My broadband is very slow, so it takes a while. More gems to upload include a very early TV appearance by James Dyson in a feature on vacuum cleaners shown on "This Morning", loads on the free flights fiasco, more ads and more videos I have made myself.

 

[vintagerepairer]

Candy

If anything, they kept the brand and the factories going a lot longer than it would have done without them. With the free flights offer, Hoover UK killed themselves, though of course it was slow and unintentional. I don't recall any other manufacturer being in the running to take Hoover over, aside from Candy.

At the same time, James Dyson was poised to release a product which would massively impact one of Hoovers core revenue streams. I often wonder if Candy had any idea about this when it bought out Hoover.

As has been said already, it is highly likely that production of Hoover cleaners would have been taken to the Far East at some point anyway because it was a growing trend; by the early 1990s other manufacturers such as Morphy Richards had been making a good deal of their small appliances out there already. Over the last 20 years, the small appliance marker has been filled with situations which had not been seen before, and as there are so many factors to include, it is so hard to say exactly why a product like Hoover is how it now is.

 

[ultraperformer]

Sorry Roger I'd spelt your name wrong! Looking forward to seeing your new videos, after watching your video of the Hoover Freemotion Cyclean I had to get one, pictures and videos of this machine really don't do it justice it's a stunning looking machine, I've taken heed of your warning about them scratching easily and it's now safe and sound in its box stored away.

Dan

 

[portable]

<span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Roger,</span>


<span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Thank you. This was an education. </span>


<span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">As you have stated, it was likely that the operation would eventually move to the Far East. This seemed to be the way things were going at the beginning of the millenium. I think there is the remotest glimmer that this may change. I keep hearing reports in the press that manufacturers (at least in the US, and I suspect that the UK is not far behind) are discovering that there are now increases in other kinds of costs (and even labor) in China that are making production there more of a headache than it used to be. There is talk that manufacturers may bring some production back to the US. However, for China-owned firms, this may not be forthcoming. Maybe we will see companies begin to change hands again. </span>


<span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Hope springs eternal. It's pretty hard for people to buy cars, houses and appliances if they don't have a job.</span>


<span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">John </span>

 

[turbo500]

thanks for sharing. I wonder what the new cleaner was that the 2 factories were competing for?

 

[seamusuk]

The Cleaner was...

Hey Chris..
I'm pretty sure the model in question was the Sensory- I have one of the last Cambuslang made models NIB as a future collectable along with a Discovery Ecobox.....
Seamus