The future of Aerus

[electromatik]

More conflicting information about Aerus has come to light. This news report from the Bristol NBC television station WCYB appears to suggest that Aerus is now known as ActivePure! Have they changed AGAIN??? What is their focus now? So little conclusive information.

One this is certain. This is the Bristol plant still in operation. Whether they are manufacturing vacuums and shampoo machines there now is anybody's guess.

I take an interest in this because I admired Lux and their products and I also grew up one hour north of Bristol in that corner of Virginia and it was always a major company for the area.



https://wcyb.com/news/local/activep...-hire-50-new-employees-at-bristol-va-location

 

[electromatik]

GAH! I hate my typos!

That second paragraph should read:

One thing is certain. The Bristol plant is still in operation. It is making air purification products at the very least. Whether they are manufacturing vacuums and shampoo machines there now is anybody's guess.

 

[panasonicvac]

As far as I'm aware of, they're still making vacuums and other floor care needs. I just asked the company over a month ago.

 

[electromatik]

I thought so too panasonicvac.

What about this "formerly known as Aerus" business? And the fact that the video doesn't show or discuss vacuums at all.

Still uncertainty about the situation.

 

[huskyvacs]

The main trading name of the company changed from Aerus Holdings, LLC to ActivePure Technologies. That's about all I can find out.

I think they recently did a partnership with NASA and that required the name of the group that owns all the subcompanies to change.

Also interesting info I found along the way:

https://fortune.com/2021/07/11/government-oversight-air-purifiers-covid/

 

[s31463221]

Aerus Vacuums

It seems they’re still in the vacuum business, at least that’s what their website shows. Some time ago, they split the vacuum site from the main Aerus site, not really sure why but they did…

http://www.aerusvacuums.com/Site/FloorCare

 

[electromatik]

@huskyvacs

That is a strange situation. One now wonders what the point of the name-change to "Aerus" really accomplished?? I wonder if the vacuums will still be sold as Aerus or with the ActivePure name? Weird situation.

 

[electromatik]

@ S31463221

They have been doing a lot of strange things in recent years. I just hate to lose yet another legendary company...

Hopefully it is nothing to worry about.

 

[s31463221]

Electromatik, I completely agree with that. I grew up in an Electrolux household, and to this day still use and rely on their products for home cleaning. Now that Kirby has sold, who knows what will happen with them in the very near future. Last thing I want to see is the demise of Aerus, sadly I do worry about that simply because people don't want to pay a lot for quality vacuums anymore, but would rather go blow their money on disposable junk that is dead in a year or so.....makes me scratch my head sometimes.

 

[beagledad]

Aerus or Activepure, whatever they're calling themselves, should buy back the Electrolux label for their vacuums since AB Electrolux of Sweden is no longer selling vacuums in the US. That is a name that much of the population still associates with quality vacuums.

 

[electromatik]

@beagledad

Absolutely!

They went thru that whole name-change rigamarole and for WHAT??

Electrolux AB's vacuums failed in the US market and I've been hoping that they could get the name back, but I seriously doubt it will happen. Electrolux AB will never let go of it now that they have other products on the market.

Another chapter in the convoluted Aerus saga.

 

[jo]

I agree and…

I was just talking with Rich at Aerus in Denville, No and I told him they needed to get the Electrolux name back for the vacuums now that Eureka no longer is selling the Electrolux vacs here in the US. He has been working for the company since the 80s and seemed to “not object” to my thoughts on this.

The point of the name change was a result of the Eureka company who sold their vacuums under the Electrolux name in Europe wanting to sell their products under the Electrolux name here in the US so they bought out the name from the US company which resulted in the US company having to create a new name which became Aerus.

If they lower prices some, advertise better, along with regain the Electrolux name for the vacuums or perhaps combine it with Aerus as “Electrolux by Aerus or Aerus Electrolux or something like that it may work to regain the popularity.

We will see….for right now I don’t believe there is any plan to delete the vacuum business…when I go in the store only the vacs are on display, I didn’t see the air cleaning or laundry pro on display. The air cleaner is the only one that actually kills the coronavirus!

Jon

 

[luxlife]

Perhaps if they had more advertising and distribution?

Any type of advertising they could do might help the brand. It seems like the only people who know that the name has changed are vacuum store owners and vacuum collectors. If their website is correct, then it's no wonder we're not seeing more Aerus in the Texas markets. Currently it shows only 3 stores for Texas: Austin, Beaumont and Houston. I'm really surprised that there's not a store listed in the Dallas area. Can this be true?

I'm in the Houston area myself and I can recall that in the 1980's we had 3 stores here. Now it's been whittled down to one and they're not in a centralized location either. I've met the owner of the Beaumont store and his business is doing well because he's got the advantage of being the only authorized source in that area. I personally love the brand and I'd love some new machines, but I'm hesitant to get too emotionally invested in them again until things look a little more solid for them in my area.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

There's a very modern Aerus

dealer right near me. It still looks to be operating smoothly. I'm thinking about contacting them about our VCCC convention. I hope they're still around by then.

 

[electromatik]

@luxlife

That's certainly crazy. Only THREE stores in the whole of Texas? As huge as Texas is, that is not many.

All this name-changing and confusion it brings is not helping their case.

When I came across that very recent WCYB report about the Bristol factory, I noticed they stated "formerly known as Aerus" and during the tour of the plant, they neither showed nor discussed vacuum cleaners.

I personally think Joe Urso is a whack-job. If he's trying to destroy another vacuum company, he's doing a good job.

 

[luxlife]

@electromatik

I think the website might need updating. They didn’t even mention the dealership in Ft. Worth. I just now remembered it. The WCYB story is similar to one that was broadcast ion a Beaumont station around the same time.

 

[gmagg660]

A dying vine….

I don’t think the brand is going to stick around much longer, it’s a dying vine. I used to own an Aerus upright for 12 years, but have sold it due to unavailability of replacement parts. Most homes today don’t contain much carpeting. That too is outdated as hard flooring types are more desirable. The demand for bulky vacuums with beater bar power heads like the Aerus are being outpaced by stick type vacuums and smaller canister vacuums. People want convenience and ease of use products. Unless the companies leaders understand the shifting marketplace and can invest in innovation and product development to compete, I don’t see much happening. It appears Mr. Urso is chasing profit and has shifted to air purification to bank on the pandemic. The reality is that portable units don’t do much over a high quality system your local HVAC can install. All of the split brands and divisions of Aerus- beyond, active pure, ecopure, laundry pro are confused attempts to reignite the brand. Most of those products can be found by competitors for half the price, and you don’t need a D2D salesperson to get them. By the way direct sales is dead!

 

[jo]

Dallas and Fort Worth each have stores

The Dallas area store is in “Richardson, Texas”. And there’s a store in Ft. Wprth. I live in the Dallas area about 5 mins from the corporate offices and about 15 minutes drive to the Richardson branch.

People do like their cordless bagless stick vacs but many still choose uprights or canisters. I have both the stick type but mine is corded and also the Electrolux canister. I prefer the Electrolux canisters. I don’t have hardly any carpet so I use the aluminum wands with the combination rug and floor tool mostly. I hate sliders, they just drag the crumbs and dust around.

They should come out with a cordless stick vac to compete in the market. They do have a cordless lite upright which is bagged.

There is a third group who knows of Aerus…pretty much anyone who had an Electrolux and regularly went by the store to get service or bags anyt8me after the name change. My Mom has always had the Electrolux and so she found out about the change when she had to get bags. But I do agree that the name change did NOT help the company or brand familiarity.

True a whole house Air purification system may be better than the portable systems but they don’t kill the coronavirus like the Aerus does!

If they are so wrapped up in air purification then they should make a system that fits onto forced air Hvac systems but keep in mind a lot of homes do not have forced air systems mostly in the northern parts of the US. They are less efficient at heating compared to a hot water baseboard radiator system running mostly on exterior perimeter walls of the home. Hence the portable air purification systems would be the only option in these homes. Many home in the northern region do not have air conditioning because the season is so short and not all that hot that people can use window unit a/cs for the 2 or 3 months when a/c is desired.

I don’t think they are killing the vacuum division…after all they did recently update the top of the line model entering into a partnership with Lux of Switzerland which makes the main unit but not the attachments. Just take a look at this page I found on the Lux website. The canister is the same…but 220 volt instead.



https://www.luxinternational.com/faq/intelligence-vacuum-cleaner/6

 

[tolivac]

Yes,the Aerus air purifiers do indeed kill the viruses-the UVC bulbs are the answer.Most HVAC companies sell UVC bulb units that can be retrofitted to existing HVAC systems in homes or business.If this was done can help GREATLY on the war on viruses.Also the UV lamps destroy airborne bacteria and their spores.