Hong Kong co. buying iconic Hoover brand

Hong Kong co. buying iconic Hoover brand

	Published : Tue, 30 Jan 2007 18:19 By : Agencies Print this Story

GLENWILLOW, Ohio (AFX) - The sale of appliance maker Whirlpool Corp.'s iconic Hoover vacuum business to a Hong Kong company that makes Dirt Devil vacuum cleaners is nearing completion, and the new owner said Tuesday it plans to move the Hoover headquarters to the Cleveland area.

The $107 million sale to Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd. is expected to close Wednesday, the company announced. TTI said the deal had passed federal and state antitrust reviews.

The plan is for The Hoover Co. to be combined with TTI's existing Dirt Devil and Royal operations in Glenwillow, about 20 miles southeast of Cleveland.

The new company will be called TTI Floor Care and will be the largest floor care business in North America, TTI said.

Hoover had been headquartered in North Canton since it was founded in 1907. Hoover was family-owned until it went public in 1943. Chicago Pacific Corp. acquired Hoover in 1985 and Maytag acquired Chicago Pacific four years later.

Joseph Galli Jr., chief executive of Techtronic Appliances Holding Co. Ltd., a division of TTI, said the acquisition is an important step for the company.

'With nearly 100 years of quality and innovation, the Hoover name is synonymous with floor care and is one of the most recognized brands in the world. The addition of Hoover to our existing floor care businesses allows us to invest much more significantly in research and development, new product innovation and marketing,' he said.

Benton Harbor, Mich.-based Whirlpool acquired Hoover in its $1.8 billion purchase last year of Maytag and markets its brands, along with KitchenAid and Jenn-Air, among others. Maytag was Hoover's parent company.

Techtronic, which also sells Milwaukee and AEG power tools, will assume control of Hoover while Whirlpool will retain pension and post-retirement benefit liabilities for retired Hoover employees.

In May, Whirlpool announced that it would try to sell Hoover and three other former Maytag companies: Williston, S.C.-based Dixie-Narco vending systems; the Amana commercial microwave business, which is based in Amana, Iowa; and Brea, Calif.-based Jade commercial appliance business.

Chris Gurreri, who will president of TTI Floor Care, said in statement that he has started talks with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Worker's Union Local 1985, which represents Hoover workers and had explored buying the company to save jobs from moving overseas.

'We have begun to establish a better understanding of each other's issues and concerns,' Gurreri said. 'Obviously, we are intent on putting together the strongest, most efficient combined operation possible. We look forward to input from the union as we assess the Hoover manufacturing and distribution operations for their fit into the new entity.'

Whirlpool shares fell 65 cents Tuesday morning on the New York Stock Exchange and were trading at $88.12. Shares have traded between $74.07 and $96 over the last year.