Yesterday we wrote about Shop-Vac’s reportedly closing down several USA facilities. We don’t have any new information beyond this, but it’s never a good sign for a brand to abruptly lay off workers at what looks to be their headquarters or flagship production operations.
In a letter reportedly given to workers, Shop-Vac says that they are in dire financial conditions due to the global pandemic and financial crisis.
Advertisement
It is said that Shop-Vac was seeking to sell its business to another company, and that the buyer walked away from the deal without warning.
At least one reader has pointed fingers at big box retailers and private label brands as contributing to or even causing Shop-Vac’s troubles. Is this possible? Certainly, but are retailers and private label brands really to blame?
Earlier this year, we wrote about International Tool, a tool storage maker, declaring bankruptcy and closing up.
Western Forge, a USA hand tool brand, has also closed.
There used to be a balance in the wet/dry vacuum market:
Advertisement
Home Depot heavily featured Ridgid shop vacuums.
Lowe’s heavily featured Shop-Vac shop vacuums.
Sears heavily featured Craftsman shop vacuums.
There are other brands and makers as well, such as Vacmaster. Dewalt has a line of heavy duty vacuums, as does Porter Cable, and many power tool brands also have cordless and corded dust extractors and HEPA vacs.
Amazon and other retailers carried Shop-Vac vacuums. I bought a Shop-Vac via Amazon a few years ago, and it’s a decent and competitive wet/dry vacuum, with my only complaint being the blower motor feature pulling out every time I try to move or carry the vacuum from its top handle.
There have been some innovations by Ridgid and (Sears-era) Craftsman brands over the years, and although I don’t recall any significant releases or forward movements by the Shop-Vac brand, not a lot has changed in the industry to suggest that Shop-Vac hasn’t stayed with the times.
Looking at Lowe’s website, there are numerous Shop-Vac products available and in-stock at stores, and across a strong range of prices.
From what I can tell, Shop-Vac continues to have healthy retail availability.
Looking for Shop vacuums on Amazon, one of their products has an Amazon’s Choice label.
Lowe’s started carrying Stanley Black & Decker’s Craftsman tools several years ago now. Lowe’s Shop-Vac Black Friday special has changed over the years, and was a competitive choice that co-existed alongside a Craftsman option.
Is it possible that Lowe’s and Craftsman’s partnership, and Craftsman vacuums also being available elsewhere such as at Amazon, eroded some of Shop-Vac’s market share? Absolutely.
Here’s what we know so far about the current situation:
Shop-Vac was looking for a buyer, but the deal they were working on fell through.
Given that Stanley Black & Decker acquired Waterloo, a tool storage manufacturer, and the implied reasons behind that decision, it’s very possible that Stanley Black & Decker was the potential buyer. But, there are numerous other companies that could have been the potential buyer.
We don’t know who the buyer was, or why the deal fell through, and we’re probably never going to find out.
With Shop-Vac being a private company, we have zero insights into their sales figures or market shares over the years.
It is possible that Sears’ sale of the Craftsman brand to Stanley Black & Decker and the Craftsman-Lowe’s partnership that followed to have harmed Shop-Vac’s sales by a measurable and impactful amount.
But it’s also not hard to imagine that it is indeed the COVID-19 pandemic and economic situation that put Shop-Vac into what they described as dire financial conditions.
I would guess that they lost a few months of production during the shutdown. Could this have harmed their ability to ship a Black Friday special buy to Lowe’s for the 2020 holiday shopping season?
Black Friday 2020 and the holiday shopping must contribute a lot to Shop-Vac’s revenue each year, as the special buy puts a high quantity of products in every Lowe’s store and at online fulfillment warehouses. I wouldn’t expect for any changes in Shop-Vac and Lowe’s relationship for 2020, but if the economic crisis left Shop-Vac unable to meet projected quantities, that would definitely hurt their financials in a meaningful way, on top of any other pandemic-related impacts they might have experienced so far this year.
What about lost sales during the shutdown as businesses, commercial, and industrial sectors were largely shut down?
Did parts shortages lead to impactful slowdowns?
I really don’t think it’s fair to say that Shop-Vac’s financial situation is their own fault, or the fault of Craftsman, Lowe’s, Ridgid, or other competing brands or retailers.
There simply isn’t enough public information to point fingers.
It is absolutely not a good thing for Shop-Vac to close any facilities, let alone what looks to be their USA headquarters.
Even is Shop-Vac was suffering from increased competition, we lack the information and insights to conclude anything other than what they reportedly told employees, that the financial problems are related to the COVID pandemic.
If anyone knows more about this situation, please let us know!
Shop-Vac isn’t the only USA company facing hardships. Back in May 2020, Alcoa planned to shut down an aluminum smelter in Washington, potentially affecting 700 jobs (there have been no further updates), and Michigan Maple Block closed a Michigan factory, affecting 56 workers.
Ramone
Might have been a private equity company — they might have dug into the financials and didn’t like what they saw.
Matt
Shop-Vac is owned by the Miller family, which founded the company back in the 50s or 60s.
Tom D
It could still have been milked dry by mortgages, but I’d that were the case you’d think it’s be going bankrupt instead of just shutting down.
Matt
Ah, you were referring to the potential buyers, I suppose.
Jay
My new shop vac brand vacuum is a craftsman with a shop vac label covering the craftsman label . I don’t like craftsman that’s why I bought a shop vac brand . Btw I just bought it July 2021.guess that sucks or blows for me. So now we know who makes the shop vac brand it’s craftsman/Stanley black and decker.
Jay K
Their products suck?
VindalooDiesel
ISWYDT
John
To answer the title question simply, you can’t manufacture a quality motor and make all those parts to create a vacuum that will last or be worth a damn with real world use, all for $76. It’s a joke what people think is quality these days.
I own 4 Fein vacs all 8-12 years old. One was bought new and three were bought used. I run then for extended periods sanding, sawing, cleaning workshops and jobsites. They just keep working. The replacement motors alone cost more than the entire cheap vacs from Ridgid, Bauer, Shop Vac, Dewalt, Craftsman, etc. yet I haven’t needed a new motor in any of Feins.
fred
I too have Feins – only 3 in my case. I bought one 20 years ago and it still performs well. That said – my much older Craftsman 758-17860 32 gallon machines (made by Emerson) make a racket, are nowhere near as good as the Feins for dust collection – but also still soldier on. I use the Craftsmans mostly for cleaning up muck and debris outside the houses.
Mopar4wd
I don’t know those cheap vacs last a long time. I have a 30 year old one still works fine. At work most of the vacs make it 15-20 years. The cost difference is awful hard to justify to something better. And at previous jobs we did have Fein and yes they are better.
LT
I have a 23yo 1.5g Shop-Vac used for common household cleanup and more demanding chores. I’m looking for a replacement impeller which is how I ended up here. I kicked it over and it tore itself up around the mounting hole. I was surprised to see the impeller is (was) assembled quite well of aluminum. Bottom line is it is bad to see any US business go belly up. The market is obviously there for more expensive tools, but it’s tougher than ever now to compete against established brands. We dropped the ball decades ago when labor (and corporate greed) sent our manufacturing overseas. When I run across some old “Made in USA” products in my garage and shop, I smile but feel melancholy. Buy American.
Frank D
Lack of innovation, lack of product diversification, increased competition, getting beat on price point during holiday specials?
Andy
I don’t believe for a minute there problem was sales volume. Lowes and Ace alone should have moved enough units for such a small company. Obviously I’m guessing, but I can almost guarantee they had at least 1 of the following problems:
1. They overpaid their employees.
2. They overpaid their vendors.
3. The owners pulled too much cash out, and probably had a big debt load to accommodate it. This can be especially hard during a business slow down, such as the 1 caused by Covid.
Anyway you look at it, it was probably mismanagement.
fred
ShopVac was founded in 1953 – and seemed to be family owned. Many family-owned companies start out as the brainchild of their entrepreneurial founder. The second generation might add some better management and new ideas. But sadly, I’ve read that few family-owned companies make it intact beyond the third generation. Perhaps that’s because the third generation is too far removed from the founder – or that they are just no longer interested or equipped to run a business. Perhaps by gen-3 their are too many mouths to feed from corporate profits – so the business does slip into a position of being under-capitalized.
For me – I was just as happy that my children chose careers that had nothing to do with my business ventures – allowing me to sell up and retire when I thought it was time. I was also blessed by partners who agreed with my frugal approach such that we tried to accumulate capital reserves when times were good – allowing us to buy other businesses and expand during times of economic slowdown. We had a few occasions when we were astonished that we were buying out folks who had previously been living lavish lifestyles but found themselves in need to sell out at distress-sale prices.
Andy
My primary business is small to mid size business consulting, specializing in expansions and acquisitions. It’s amazing how many people running a business they didn’t start get greedy when times are good. They don’t have the experience that makes them want to chill out a bit. They have never seen a serious downturn, so they assume it can’t happen. It’s sad, really.
fred
La vie en rose never lasts. The “feeding frenzies” that precede major downturns never cease to amaze me. When the stock market, real estate or most other markets get near a peak the scramble of folks wanting to get in at any cost also seems to peak. They think that the only way is up. Similarly when their is a major downturn folks seem reluctant to invest for fear that the values will continue to fall inexorably.
Little Turkey Subs
I’ve also heard this about the 3rd Generation. Probably most visable example is Hilton Hotels. Conrad built the empire. Paris Hilton is the 3rd generation.
Gerald
Fred is on to something I’d bet. When the balloon deflates, its hard to make it on borrowed money.
MARY
they were not over paid i can tell you that i worked
there for 28 years
DanFromMass
I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a ShopVac that looked well made.
Compared to several Rigid brand plastic vacs that I’ve owned, ShopVac always had a cheap look to them.
Maybe it was their color scheme, or the shiny plastic, but they definitely didn’t catch my eye.
Nathan
when I was shopping a few years ago a plumber friend of mine talked me into a ss body shop vac vs the plastic one or vs the ridgid similar sized device. Hindsight the ridgid had more accessories that I could have used and some I ended up buying similar parts for my SS shop vac.
And hoses cost too much IMO – different rant.
Anyway the 2 times I’ve had to use it for cleaning up fluid I have to say I really like my SS body model. And it’s stable and works great. But over all feature wise – use wise there really isn’t much special about it. Tool storage could be better sure.
But the filter bags and better filter pick up the dust collection side of things. and the SS body is quieter and less static cling than the plastic body one I used to have.
So I would say they’ve been a bit behind the times. Shame they couldn’t have partnered with some cordless tool company to make a cordless shop vac with someone.
Paul
Shopvac has been making some the Craftsman line of vacs for a few years. Problem was mismanagement and the owner did not take criticism from his managers. If you didn’t agree with him you were out the door.
KJ
THIS!
MFC
To have margins so close that a couple of months shuts you down… That’s a struggling company. At least we can agree that they must not have been doing all that well.
I think it’s obvious that, largely due to individual tool companies growth in manufacturing, it is inevitable for a company that only produces one kind of tool to eventually be eased out of the market.
It’s business 101: Diversification.
They weren’t growing, so they eventually withered. Though I’m sure this won’t be the end. Someone will buy the name, the factories, etc. Like what sears did with “Craftsman”.
Jim
Sorry. Craftsman vacs were made by shop vac. Yes I 100% know this
I worked there untill now
PTT
I would have purchased a Shop-Vac but my 45 year old Black & Decker can still pick-up a 3/4 drive impact socket from the floor. My 55 year old Black& Decker doesn’t pick-up impact sockets but any type of dirt in home garage.
Tom D
Interesting way to clean up tools! 😜
Maybe a shop vac for the kids to clean up LEGO would work …
PTT
I was surprised!
3/4 drive socket is too big to fit through end of hose, so you can pick it up. This machine truly sucks.
I admit that I did have to buy a new hose for it a few years ago.
skfarmer
want to sell vacuums? come up with some sort of system to store the accessories. my shop vac does an ok job but i hate the clutter. no place to wrap the cord, wrap the hose, hold the ridgid pipes and all of the other assorted bits. it is all piled in a messy heap in the corner. just waiting to get tangled up and scatter pieces across the floor when you look at it, not to mention trying to dump it.
i would gladly pay more for a decent product with storage. if that is the best they can do maybe it was time to hang it up.
Louie Orama
Skfarmer, I have the Ridgid Smart Cart for that reason alone. Look it up on the Home Depot app. Ridgid Smart Cart
Louie Orama
Skfarmer, I just went into the app to double check and didn’t find it. BUT if you Google it, you’ll see that Amazon has it for $349.00. That’s not the price. If you scroll down a little, you’ll see a Home Depot choice. Tap on that. You’ll know which one it is because it has drawers. And it’s $209.00, is 6.5 HP, 11 Gallon bucket. And each and every accessory has a home. Even has room for spray bottles.
Vards Uzvards
https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/11-gal-smart-cart-wet-dry-vac
Mike
That is really cool. Too bad my 17yr old Rigid non-smart vac is still going strong.
mizzourob
On the innovation front, I’m surprised no brand has partnered with dust deputy to sell a vac with a deputy system integrated. I can (and did) build a cart for my dust deputy and craftsman vac. That was a major upgrade for my garage vac. From what I have seen the only out of the box cyclone solutions that fo not look piecemeal are commercial setups from Grizzly and others.
Tom D
When I bought my cheap shop vac I considered shop vac – but ended up going with a lower end Rigid because I heard it sucked more.
dll932
To me, this is a sad symptom of company management not being worth what they’re paid. I’ve seen it again and again.
Jim
You are correct
John
Prior to this year Sears/Kmart was basically giving their vacs away for free with points deals galore. Which of course led to them being sold off on Craig’s list eBay etc. I suspect this damaged their brand considerably as well.
Jack
Shop vac should learn a lesson ! Like most companies that get to big for their britches, they like to keep a super low profile from their customers that had a problem with their products. Yes it’s easy to get some help from the bottom feeders at customer service. And eventually get your new power head replaced. But honestly there should be a way to get a email to the CEO , and report a money wasting problem. Thanks
DC
From what I’ve seen too many times regarding family-owned businesses is that the later and current generations use the business as their personal checking account, running the company into the gutter.
Trippy
Never have owned a shop vac. Cannot speak of its worthiness. Currently own two craftsmen vac’s that I really like. I killed a third one after a good 25 years. My fault for leaving it out in the weather all that time. I did get the motor to turn. Just never good enough to be of much use. I own two ridged’s, which I don’t feel perform as well as the craftsmen. I had a third ridged, it was the smaller 5 gallon one that I just put in trash can about a week after I bought it. I use a highly modified 2 hp harbor freight dust collector for the tools in the shop. It is at least 20 years old. The craftsmen and ridged are in separate sound proof as I can make then cabinets in the shop. Each attached to a dust deputy. One of the craftsmen is connected to two dust deputies as that one is used for the blast cabinet.
I purchased each of the three ridgeds during after black Friday sales at Home depot. Never paying more than $40.00, the small one was $19.99. The craftsmen all purchased at sears or sears on line. Never paying more than $79.99. I shopped Fein, Merka, Festool over the years. Just seemed like an awful lot of money for a vacuum that I could get for $79.99 and last 20 years. I believe that using the dust deputies help in the longativity of the vacs that I have. The Harbor Freight dust collector I cannot really explain why it still runs. Its out side , though under a 4 x 4 piece of plywood mounted to the side of my shop. Did the impeller change out. Made my version of a top hat separator. All sits on a chopped down 55 gallon drum. With pully system so I can pick all that hardware up and pull out the drum for dumping. Folks are going to buy and support products that they feel comfortable with.
Jim
Poor buisness decisions over the years from the owner is what killed shop vac. Sending production to china was the big nail in the coffin. And the buyer backed out because miller wanted to keep the name and wanted royalties.
KJ
Shop vac didn’t close production for one day because of Covid. This has been coming for years. Pure mismanagement!
Disgruntled employee
Covid has nothing to do with it. All operations were up and running during the whole shutdown. In fact, their employees were made to work mandatory overtime for a good portion of the past year.
The Millers lining their pockets while moving to use cheap materials is what did it. Cheaper material left them throwing out more and more materials because of defects coming off of the assembly lines.
They over-worked what employees they did have, instead of making sure they had enough money in the budget for payroll to have a fully functional staff.
No hazard pay, no thank you for your service. Just a 2 1/2 day notice that you were losing your job.
Thanks Jonathan Miller and family, you are some real class acts!
Disgruntled Employee II
Correct. This has been a pattern for Jonathan Miller for decades. He drove McCulloch into the hands of venture capital decades ago, resulting in the largest bankruptcy in AZ history. All employees are expendable, including the executives. You will not find one with a kind word to say about him. He has succeeded in killing another company. Class act indeed!
Matt Rentz
The last shop vac I bought had a stiff switch and came apart every time I picked up the handle, so poor design. If that’s all the better they’re going to do, good riddance.
ryan
Craftsman brand vacs were coming from shop vac
Carl J
Shop Vac has been circling the drain for sone time now. They used to have an assembly plant in Binghamton NY and closed that up a few years back. Layed off employees were told it was because sales were way down. Over 100 lost jobs there.
Former employee
These people collected their profit and lined their own pockets… they didnt pay their Bills is the main reason they were trying to sell..
Former employee
It had nothing to do with covid because we all worked during the quarantine….
David A.
The truth, my August net was less than my March net, because I had to get away for a break.
SaturnFire
With Rigid Lifetime warranty and better quality…Why even buy a ShopVac. I mean Rigid is not a Fein, but for home use…and the fact that you can call them or get anything fixed from Home Depot, it is a no brainer. I had 15 year old Rigid that I used to remodel houses. Still going….I gave it to my cousin and got a new one recently.
Hon Cho
Sad to see a U.S. company bite the dust but I bet within a year or two we’ll see Shop-Vac models made in China or Vietnam after the brand is sold to some holding company.
Micheal
We still have a Montgomery Wards Shop Vac purchased in the Late 70’s and runs like a champ. Back then you had more regional Brands. The Globalization of everything, has caused saturation in all areas. Seriously, BD has to many Brand names, making the same thing. I think we will continue to see companies shut down. It is not BD fault, smaller companies did not innovate and compete on a larger scale.
JoeM
Okay… I have a thought, and it’s probably going to result in a little bit of hate in return… I understand that, and I even share a little bit of it, from a certain point of view.
I believe Shop-Vac suffered more than other companies BECAUSE they’re the “Kleenex” or “Dremel” of their particular niche. For decades producing the entire range from the cheapest to the most indespensible models of vacuum for shop use.
Then Covid happened. We have to remember that Covid started near the end of 2019, not just dropped on us in January 2020. It has enveloped not just “Q1” but “Q2” earnings of 2020, and a little bit of “Q4” of 2019. During those three quarters, fewer new shops were set up, fewer new Makers and Tradesmen were working full time, and as a whole Manufacturing of all sorts was down. The ShopVacs that were already in the market still worked, and there was no reason, not even a Black Friday or Christmas special, to have ANY reason to replace fully functional, reliable, Shop Vac Systems. The ones in place were working, and the industries that would usually open up NEW purchases were all shut down.
The release cycle of Shop-Vac vacuums, both New Models, and Sales on their current standard models, was halted. Not because they aren’t THE name in Shop-Vac products, or have somehow fallen from that Brand-Name to Product-Type recognition that they enjoy… Far from it. What went wrong is that their usual cycle of growing new purchases from new shops (the Shop in Shop-Vac) coupled with current shop UPGRADES to new models, were both halted by a total halt on economic activity across the globe. Only essential services, and PPE stayed active economic industries for a good, solid, 9 months.
The problem is the current system of Capitalism. (Don’t throw stones, set down the attack-Eagles, and put down your AR-15 Barbie Dolls, let me explain.) The Stock Markets are so concerned with Quarter over Quarter Growth or Reduction, that they don’t account for long-term factors for funding OR for economic crisis that has NOTHING to do with stocks or trading. In a Pandemic situation, Capitalism doesn’t understand or care that expecting Financial Growth in companies that produce products for industries that are forced to shut down during a pandemic, doesn’t actually reduce their value as companies. It just means their EARNINGS are qalified over LONG TERM gains, not QUARTERLY. But Stocks and Markets don’t care about Long-Term Investment anymore. They’ve been deregulated to the point that, if a Company can’t put out that sweet, sweet, capital gain every quarter, it tosses them to the wolves to be destroyed.
That’s what happened. That’s why the Company that brought us the name of a tool we all want to use in our shops is in trouble now. It’s not them, it’s not their parent companies, it’s the fact that a new Shop Vac isn’t considered as much of a priority purchase during a Pandemic as, say, Face Masks, Hand Sanitizer, and PPE. And the buying power? That’s happening in the Medical sector, not the Manufacturing, DIY, and Home Workshop sector.
Considering how much Governments have rushed back to open activity during the Pandemic, risking and losing people’s LIVES in the process, we probably have another 2 years, maybe even 5 years at the rate Governments have ignored the science of Novel Coronovirus, before we will have enough stability in POPULATION health to start having a greater upswing in ECONOMIC health. It could have been dealt with easily, if someone had listened to Novel themselves when they mentioned Coronavirus was based partially on the Spanish Flu, which took 5 years to eradicate at the turn of the 20th century. Even today, when ANY corpse from that time is found frozen in ice, it has to be quarantined like it’s a live body, because the Spanish Flu was so deadly, for so long. If Coronavirus is based on some traits of something that deadly, then taking the 5 years of the Spanish Flu, and correcting for all our advances in Medical Sterilization and Isolation in the past Century since its existence, would still mean that we need the entire world ISOLATED and LOCKED DOWN for a mininmum… MINIMUM… of 2 YEARS to develop a cure safely. That’s approximately October 2019, to November of 2021, where we’re all locked away in our homes, essential workers only, extreme cleaning the whole time.
We didn’t do that. We waited 3 months to lock down, which probably cost us an extra year’s worth of victims. We only locked down for 6-8 MONTHS, long before the infection curves were flat AT ALL, which probably cost us another 3 years of INCREASED cases… Which probably means we’re going to lose as many from Covid-19, as we did from the Spanish Flu, not in numbers alone but by total global population.
That is DEVASTATING as a human cost, and I know business doesn’t care about Human Life as much as it does Economic Growth. But there’s a problem here. That means the total number of potential buyers of ANY sort, globally, will be reduced by the number of casualties. The Economic Impact will be equivalent to the short term hiccup that happened just before the 1929 Stock Market Crash, that led to The Great Depression. Why? Because much like the Stock Market Crash, there was a Boom cycle just after the Spanish Flu, as they attempted to recover. The problem was, the lack of regulations resulted a very rapid, wide-spread BUST of that cycle, that plunged the world into the Great Depression. Short-Term Economic thinking leads to Long-Term SUFFERING. And that, unfortunately, is starting to show in an Economic model that has started to take down Name-Recognition companies like Shop-Vac. We, the WORLD, were so stir-crazy to make money, that we didn’t consider the damage we would do to our Economy by not taking the proper precautions.
Point blank… This is because we are in a VERY horrible time right now, and Shop-Vac is just one of MANY Casualties we can rack up to our selfish thinking during the Pandemic.
Steve
I don’t want to be confrontational, so don’t take this the wrong way but your whole theory on what happened to ShopVac is completely invalid from the start as ShopVac isn’t a publicly traded company, so those stock market pressures don’t apply in the same way. We will likely never know what they folded as they don’t have to open their books for the SEC. Also, I’ll take the under on your 2-5 years of more Covid at a disruptive pandemic level.
JoeM
That’s not confrontational, don’t worry. That’s a very rational point. And my estimations for how long Covid will last are just that, estimations. They’re vague patterns, based on daily curve results, and extrapolated long term. I didn’t do the number crunching, I followed the pattern.
So… My numbers are equally vague… I do patterns better than actual numbers and math… But I DO do Patterns. You are correct there.
As to ShopVac not being a public company… You’re right, they’re not. But… WE don’t buy direct from them. So their total sales are dependent on those companies that DO buy from them. Home Depot, Lowes, Hardware Stores, Walmart… Name a publicly traded Retail store, chances are good they can or already do, sell ShopVac products.
There, RIGHT THERE, is where ShopVac loses, quarter over quarter. While Retail Stores could still remain open, those that COULD sell ShopVac… Were likely selling more PPE, Toilet Paper (Because we went insane for the stuff.), and Emergency Supplies… Not ShopVacs. So… Instead of having a backlog of ShopVacs already ordered, the orders stopped after the first quarter of low sales. No restocks. And since the Stock Market doesn’t care if they lose money on ShopVac products, there’s no chance to monetize, split shares, or fundraise, simply to keep buying something that nobody needs, or is buying. Because their profits are qualified Quarter by Quarter, the RETAILERS could recover by ordering more of what was selling, but weren’t passing on ANY relief to privately owned companies like ShopVac. It was a matter of Quarterly Gains, instead of Long-Term investment in a product that would EVENTUALLY be wanted again.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with ShopVac the Company. What’s wrong is the DEMAND for ShopVac in a Pandemic situation, and the inability for the Retail markets, who are most certainly Publicly traded, to provide any sort of outreach or financial aid for those companies they truly valued for regular operations when the Pandemic eventually ends. The Governments of the world have rushed to get the Economy going again, rather than care about Human Lives being at risk. Now even the most conservative, forward thinking, countries of the world are facing a Covid Resurgence. Covid didn’t mutate, or get worse. We didn’t quarantine or lock down enough to kill it off.
So, this isn’t ShopVac’s fault. This is 100% a Capitalism problem. Governments were desperate to re-fund the economy, not so concerned about the cost in taxpayer dollars spent on burying the new casualties. Yes, people need to work to survive, but as a Pandemic situation, there’s no Economy without Consumer ABUNDANCE. Every life lost, or taken out of commission by the Virus itself, is a lost Consumer every quarter. Multiply that by the hundreds of thousands of new infections every day, and this new upcoming Quarter will see a crash, rather than a growth. Not because no one will be working, but because MORE people will be taken out of the liquid economy due to Covid, and our collective early lifting of the lockdowns.
So yeah… I agree with you, Steve. ShopVac is not the victim of losing Stock Market Value. Instead, they’re victim of lack of Retail Demand. It doesn’t seem like there’s a difference, but sadly they equate nearly exactly in such a massively capitalist world. While I do believe Capitalism is a very reasonable system under which to run an Economy, I very much disagree with a de-regulated wildfire version of Capitalism. It’s supposed to be a shared raising of Capital in order to fund projects and business PRIVATELY, rather than through the Government’s hands. But, without Government REGULATION to protect the Tax Payer and the Governments THEMSELVES from those that are just trying to cash out their Capital Gains as fast as possible, we get stuck with the Consequences being put on completely innocent parties within that system. ShopVac, Voting Populus, Taxable Income, Taxpayer Revenues… They all suffer when there’s no regulation to keep Capitalism flexible enough to generate Long-Term investments in things we can put on hold in an emergency. In Pandemic Emergency mode, simply regulating that there’s a halt in Overhead Costs for Businesses would keep them afloat indefinitely, as long as the Pandemic exists. The second it switches back, the Economy that ran off that Overhead is 100% balanced and operational, even profitable again. Losses accumulated during the Pandemic can be resolved with static loans, and gradual rate increases to cover those loans. They just can’t be resolved in a singular quarter, that’s all.
And, no… This isn’t contentious. This is what is called an intelligent conversation. You and I are just talking like smart, educated people about a topic. I have zero negative feelings about it, or you, and I hope I have not inspired any negative feelings in you. If I have, I apologize now. I just enjoy a good, intelligent, conversation once in a while. And for that? I do thank you, Steve. I appreciate a little break where we can have some smart conversation these days, without it devolving into all the negativity seen on the News or the Internet these days.
Gabe
This is terrible news, & my thoughts are with the workers who have lost their jobs during an already difficult time. The erosion of domestic manufacturing during my lifetime has been unbelievable. I’m in my early 30’s, & remember trips to Sears to get US-made Craftsman tools. My first job was at a little hardware store where 75% of the tools were American-made. Now, even most of the big brands barely offer anything made here.
It’s not just a question of quality; I know most countries can make good stuff. Taiwan makes some of the best stuff now.
But every time an American worker loses their job, it impacts all of us. It also has such a demoralizing effect on that person & their community, as through no fault of their own, they’ve lost control of their own lives.
As for Shop-Vac, I know there were “better” options, but I always purchased them. They were made here, (sure, they’ve been forced to import parts.) & importantly, their accessories were inexpensive & quality, & their customer service fantastic.
They also managed to remain among the best value, even as their competitors exploited poorly-paid foreign labor.
Really sad news all around, & I pray all of those workers can land on their feet as soon as possible.
Gabe
Just a speculation, but I work facilities & maintenance for a hospital group. The supply chain for EVERYTHING is desperate. Most of our essential PPE is allocated 2-6 weeks ahead of time, & we’re lucky to get 1/2 of our usual order.
I’m not sure who manufactures the material for Shop Vac bags & filters, or if they made it themselves, but I can tell you, I’ve spoken with reps from respirator, mask & filter manufacturers & everyone is struggling to get the materials they need.
Prices & demand have soared, but as the materials are allocated to the most essential products, many companies simply can’t get the supplies they need to maintain production.
Combined with Lowes promoting Chinese-made Craftsman over Shop-Vac, & lost months of revenue, it’s unsurprising but tragic they couldn’t hold on.
What is so discouraging is that, it doesn’t matter if a company is truly committed to US-manufacturing & their workers. As long as competitors are allowed to use poorly paid & horribly exploited foreign labor, & take advantage of lax regulations, it’s going to be nearly impossible to remain in business.
And as more workers lose jobs & salary, fewer of us have the resources to “buy American,” even if the desire is there.
Robert Lose former forklift driver for Shop-Vac
Soon to be a former Shop-Vac Employee. Shop-Vac never shut down do to covid-19. They are still working a few employees. Shop-Vac produced other brands other than their own line. Craftsman, Dayton and others. As well as industrial fans for U-Line. Miss Management of funds is more likely for the shutdown.
Charles Palmer
Well, here’s a comment on product quality: My Model QAS60, 6 Amp Shop -Vac. Only used a 3 or 4 times and never used wet. It quit instantly as I turned it on and it made that “plink” noise that tells you… the electric just burnt out. It was a first startup (cold) of the day. Probably had 2 hours of total run time on it.
I took it all apart and it was clean inside, no dirt built to block airflow. Bearings good, carbon contacts on rotor still 95% life left on them, etc. I did notice black areas on the rotor winding enclosure channels, but no sign of excess heat in the stator windings. All the wire terminations were non-soldered and relied on heat to melt the clear outer wire coating and make contact with a compression spring clip. This is definitely a week point in it’s design. I did not have a meter to check continuity in the windings or the on/off switch to complete the inspection properly. So, I believe the weak link was overheating in the motor on a 90 deg F day outside, operating for 30 minutes.
A good production, quality testing procedure would be to run every 200th unit non-stop in 90 deg F heat, to failure. This would have caught these sub-standard motors. Nothing like a solid, soldered connection – or solid crimped connection – to keep high resistance problems from occurring. Could be substandard winding insulation, or damaged insulation during winding, etc.
Good testing procedures will catch most problems with products.
Joe
It’s amazing Shop Vac lasted as long as they did. The assets were purchased Dec 25 by a Chinese company. The reason they failed was other vacuums were being made in China and Shop Vac could not compete using American wages. Shop Vac production will almost certainly be moved to China. Eventually the US plant will be shot down again.