Wap Turbo West German Made Shop Vac?

[bensvacuums]

I have obtained a Wap Turbo vacuum that I believe was made in the 1980s. It was obtained through an estate sale of a vacuum salesman who retained several of his "favorites" after retiring.

I haven't opened the box yet and therefore can't even find a model number. There is a faint "made in West Germany" stamp on the box.

Appreciate any information others can provide.

 

[panasonicvac]

These were made by Stihl, the same company that makes chainsaws.

 

[bisonian]

More likely

It’s more likely that WAP made them for Stihl. The brand was well known in the ‘90s for producing commercial vacs, often found in the U.S. at car washes. In the mid-90s it became part of the ALTO Group, a conglomerate of 10 cleaning equipment manufacturers.

The Danish industrial cleaning giant Nilfisk later bought the entire ALTO group, which also included the Clarke brand. Nilfisk, which also includes Advance, is now one of the largest manufacturers of commercial/industrial cleaning equipment in the world.

 

[mjhoshaw]

I concur, Bisonian

I read something to that effect elsewhere in this forum about who makes the Stihl shop vacs. I have their SE122 and I couldn't be happier. It doesn't have the CFM of a high-end Shop Vac or similar, but those machines don't pull 90" of water. With a 1-1/2" hose it has plenty of air velocity for any job I've encountered. It was expensive but in my book, worth every penny.


 


Joel

 

[huskyvacs]

If he saved it, it must be something special. Also this likely was made so close to the fall of the Berlin wall that maybe why he preserved it. I like the appearance of it, tidy little unit. Must have been the predecessor to VAX.

 

[suckolux]

We used those at our quick lubes in the early 90s