said to be "el cheapo" but...
hi there,
I do remember Zelmer vacs having been sold here in Western Germany during the time when the wall was still up through catalogue warehouses such as "Quelle / Neckermann" (being the two major ones) and Otto, Baur, et al as well).
They were rebranded "Elite (aka Karstadt)" or "Privileg (aka Quelle's electric goods)" or what have you.
Later when the wall had come down, you could see them in the BOL segment of the market being sold as Zelmer machines. By the first look, they may appear as an "el cheapo" brand, but on the second glance, you can see some very practical improvements that no major company has ever thought of.
See link below for some more details.
Too bad about all this: I cannot speak of "REAL" Zelmer machines, they must be really good, which results in the fact that the Zelmer vacs sold here were really simpler than the original ones or the top models which we couldn't get in the west. Zelmer seems to be a Polish or Czech company, I do not remember exactly. Apart from that somewhat "thin" thread link below, there has been a major photo trail or thread here from our Eastern co-collectors, it features his really nice canister vac and all its tools (something with "choose whether bag or cyclone" if I remember right) (Damn, I cannot find it now). It was really a good idea: Same basic machine and just some clicks and adjustments and you were just where you wanted to be: Bags or cyclone. Good thing!
Sorry for not being able to give you THAT link, it is really a sight.
Hope our friend pops up here with a reminder.
Cheers, Joe
http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?8490
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