Numatic in [North] America

[undecided]

Hi all,

There was a comment in the archives from not so long ago by "oliveoiltinfoil" that mentioned the possibility of Numatic establishing a presence in North America.

https://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?40830_6#start_40830.14

Here is the relavent quote verbatim:

"Henry, which telescopic wands, HEPA and a turbo tool kit with 3 extra tools above the standard set costs about £140, so the cost you guys in North America pay, are unfortunately and ironic tax and import charges due to no official NA distributors, but ive hear don the end of a grape vine that Numatic are setting up Numatic Inc for North America, due to popular and rising demand."

Does anyone (oliveoiltinfoil?) have any more information about this?

I feel like I'm living in the wrong country when I look at this site:
https://www.myhenry.co.uk/accessories-and-consumables

I don't mind so much the the premium on the cleaners themselves, but what if Henry breaks his nose (hose)? Or Hetty has an asthma attack because of a dirty filter? Would you not agree that Henry and his family need more affordable healthcare in the U.S. and Canada?

 

[compuvac]

Numatic have been in North America for decades (since the 90's iirc) in the commercial market branded as Nacecare. It's only recently that they started to become more popular in the domestic market.

The official distributor for Numatic in North America is Nacecare Solutions based in Toronto, Canada. They distribute to Canada and the United States.

You can buy a 120V Henry of amazon.com for around 300ish USD and if you are in Canada your local vacuum shop might have them.

If you need spare parts contact Nacecare through their site or a vacuum shop that deals Numatics



http://nacecare.com/

 

[blackheart]

Steel City

Steel City, which is a vacuum supply company carries Numatic products any vacuum shop with a Steel City account will have access to them. I got these two from a shop I used to work at. James was later sold but Henry has a permanent place in the collection. It's even been modded to use a power nozzle.

 

[huskyvacs]

We used to have VAX here too in the 80s but they did not last long. Too much market saturation. I have a VAX North America VHS tape.

 

[undecided]

Numatic the company

I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to my question.

I probably could have done a better job at wording my post. I'm aware of NaceCare and that it has been possible to purchase Numatic-manufactured cleaning equipment in the United States and Canada for some time.

Numatic International as a company currently has a presence acting in some capacity in the following countries: United Kingdom, France, Germany, Holland, South Africa, Switzerland, Portugal, and Spain. At least according to the supplier locator on their web site at the time of my original post. The post I quoted from Oliveoiltinfoil seemed to imply that Numatic International might have plans to establish a business presence in North America -- expanding that list.

 

[compuvac]

I'm not sure what made you think that will happen but there's no reason for that to happen since Numatic already distributes their products through NaceCare to dealerships & stores.

 

[huskyvacs]

With Rigid, DeWalt, Shop-Vac, Craftsman, Husky Tools, Vacmaster, and probably a dozen more companies I don't see how Numatic would be able to make any profit here. Its too saturated. Most of those other countries have 0 or just 1 or 2 jobsite canister vac brands. Not nearly a dozen. I doubt they are selling that much through their online market to bother with opening a dedicated store or retail space nationwide in Walmart, Target, et. al. anywhere.

 

[blackheart]

I guess I don't really think of them being like a wet/dry vac as most of them aside from Charles and George don't have that wet pickup functionality. Aside from their shape most of their machines don't share too much with them.

I think of them as being more of a domestic/commercial use machine lovely for daytime cleaning as they're very quiet. We do have an upright dominated commercial market in the US from what I've seen though canisters and or backpacks definitely have their place too. It would be nice if we saw models with a powerhead as they would be an easier sell for US homes. Though with the hard floor trend perhaps what we really need is just more visibility for the brand. I don't think the average person in the US has even heard of them.

I know at one point not too long ago they offered the NVH380 for the commercial sector using the Sebo ET-1 powerhead and in the domestic sector they offered Harry with either the Wessel Werk EBK280 or the Centec....hard floor tool i can't remember at the moment.

I think due to their large capacity and with a more aggressive head they could be popular for like people with multiple pets and adding in a powered stair tool wouldn't be difficult either.

 

[oliveoiltinfoil]

Hello

I did indeed make the comment, and it's still in the works, although a US UK bespoke trade deal, while signed in draft form, has yet to be finalised.

Covid kind of paused a lot of domestic policy for both the UK and US. In the deal, consumer electronics are noted, and from what I have heard form some sources at Numatic, they will indeed be establishing an official presence in North America with the hope to lower prices and create a diversified product lineup, similar to Dyson US.

Dyson has a HQ in Singapore and the UK, and Singapore US trade relations have gone further than EU US trade hence why many modern British brands dont actually have a presence in north America

That is changing as we speak however.

Just watch this space.

 

[compuvac]

@oliveintinfoil Could you provide a source for your claim.

 

[oliveoiltinfoil]

No. This isn’t NCIS and we are talking about a vacuum distribution. It’s not that deep.

This person just, knows. I’m not going to spell their name out on this forum as they have no affiliation with this group and it’s would be totally unfair of me.

Just come to peace with it. It’ll happen in due course.

 

[eurekaprince]

Just my two cents worth: In North America, consumers looking to buy a bagged vacuum cleaner for their homes have lost a lot of choices over the past few years. We have lost a lot of competition in the market and it would be great to see Numatic Henrys available more broadly in Home Depot, Walmart, Best Buy and The Bay up here in Canada.

They seem to be basic, classic, durable canister vacs that would become very popular with young families that have kids who might be afraid of vacuums - the smiley face could help a lot!!!

And it would be great if these stores also offered Henry Cordless - great for people needing to keep their car clean but do not have access to an electrical outlet close to where their car is parked (like those living in high rise apartment buildings with underground garages.

 

[huskyvacs]

Blackheart

Have to remember the general public is not educated about vacuums. You have to think of what the public sees them as, and is trained to use them as. When people see canister vac in a bucket shape like that - they automatically see it as being a debris pickup machine, not a whole house cleaner. Even in their native country they get thrashed by tradies and used for construction cleanup and pitched in the bin. You have to re-train people to realize that this (a Henry) can be used in general day to day life and convince selling them on that idea. And even then I am sure you will end up with a lot of them ruined people trying to pickup wet messes with them as well, but that's another story.

 

[undecided]

@oliveintinfoil

Thanks for taking the time to chime in! It'll be interesting to see what becomes of this.