page_title: The Hoover Company
section_title: Henry Dreyfuss and Hoover
hierarchical_section_title: The Hoover Company / Henry Dreyfuss and Hoover
caption_attribution_description: Picture of Henry Dreyfuss.
context_page_description: The Hoover Company is a vacuum cleaner company founded in Ohio in the US. It also established a major base in the United Kingdom; and, mostly in the 20th century, it dominated the electric vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the Hoover brand name became synonymous with vacuum cleaners and vacuuming in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Hoover was part of the Whirlpool Corporation, but was sold in 2006 to Techtronic Industries for $107 million. Hoover Europe/UK split from Hoover US in 1993, and had previously been acquired by Techtronic.
  In addition to producing floorcare products, Hoover was also an iconic domestic appliance brand in Europe, particularly well known for its washing machines and tumble dryers in the UK and Ireland, and also had significant sales in many parts of Europe. Today, the Hoover Europe brand, as part of the portfolio of brands owned by Haier remains a major player in the European white goods and floor care sectors in a number of countries.
context_section_description: In the early 1930s, the company retained the services of Henry Dreyfuss, an up-and-coming industrial designer, to give the Hoover line-up a much needed update. Before Dreyfuss's involvement with the company, the majority of the machines manufactured consisted of a black motor and an aluminum base; this was the norm for more than twenty years.  When Hoover introduced the 'Hedlite' in 1932, it was rather awkward and unattractive. Dreyfuss integrated this into the housing of the cleaner, making the machine more aesthetically pleasing and echoing the trends of streamline design.  Of Dreyfuss's designs before 1936, he was able to update the basic Hoover machine and keep the company's products relevant with the times. In 1935, he was commissioned to completely redesign the Hoover cleaner. In 1936, for a fee of 25,000 USD, Dreyfuss sold Hoover the design which would become the Model 150 cleaner. For the first time since the introduction of the Hoover vacuum cleaner, the mechanical workings were completely concealed from sight by a Bakelite cover.  This cover was a tear-drop styled shell, which seamlessly incorporated the headlight.  Also, he totally revamped the base of the machine. Since the release of this design, all Hoover cleaners consisted of a fluid base and a hood to cover the electric motor.  These designs suggested efficiency, cleanliness, and speed. Dreyfuss brought excitement and style to an otherwise mundane household appliance.  His final design for the Hoover Company was the 1957 Convertible.
caption: Henry Dreyfuss
exif: {}