Just to reiterate, my comments about Electrolux were all based on discussions and interviews with former Electrolux personnel, including a plant manager from the Bristol factory who, along with the rest of the work force, lost her job when the plant was summarily closed in 2003.
Most of the "old-timers" I've talked to have said -- emphatically -- that the Model G was the best machine the company ever made. However, I don't necessarily agree with that 100%. The Silverado is a fantastic performer and its understated color scheme is elegant and tasteful. I even developed a soft spot for the much-later Grand Marquise when I had the opportunity to acquire one at a very reasonable cost. That machine, with a new genuine Electrolux coiled vinyl electric hose, is now my "daily driver."
That having been said, all the models after the G, while, granted, are somewhat more powerful*, are also noisy and screechy -- the later plastic machines the worst offenders.
And to me, the boxy, squared-off post-G machines [until the Renaissance] look ugly and ungraceful. The squared-off, flat fronts can get caught against table legs. That never happened with any of my earlier Luxes.
I have never had a problem with any Lux 'tipping over' -- not the Model G, nor even the early Model E (the later one had a stabilizer foot added), S or R. If people don't yank and tug on the machines, they will not topple over. It's a matter of treating the machines nicely.
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*I can't help but wonder if there's a diminishing point of return with more and more suction power. As Stan Kann once put it, "My God! The new vacuums scream so! Who can stand all that racket? Everyone wants more, more, more suction! They're nuts, all of them I tell you! Crazy!! You only need enough suction to move the schmutz from the floor into the vacuum cleaner bag!"
Then, switching gears...
Speaking of Bristol...
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Bristol Virginia plant closing, to idle 250 workers
Aerus Electrolux to shut down by end of May
By MIKE STILL
Bristol Herald Courier
March 14, 2003
The Aerus Electrolux plant in Bristol Virginia will shut down by the end of May, idling as many as 250 workers, officials of the vacuum cleaner manufacturer said Thursday.
Employees filed into the plant Thursday morning to attend a teleconference** with Aerus Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joseph P. Urso, who told them of the shutdown.
"We are extremely grateful to our employees in Bristol and to the surrounding community for all of their support and efforts over the years," he said. "And we are very sorry for any adverse impact that this decision may have on our employees, their families and friends in the Bristol area."
Company officials said in a statement that Aerus had signed an agreement with The Eureka Co. -- a subsidiary of Swedish firm AB Electrolux -- to have Eureka's El Paso, Texas, facility take over assembly and some manufacture of Aerus vacuum cleaners, floor polishers, floor shampooers and air-filtration devices now made at the Bristol plant.
Aerus and AB Electrolux are separate corporations. The production shutdown and move were expected to start immediately and be complete in May.
Urso said implementing outsourcing opportunities -- such as the contracting of Aerus production to an outside firm -- would "lower the cost and improve the supply of Aerus products and services."
About 250 employees in the production side of the plant were given 60 days notice required under the federal Warren Act, said Aerus Vice President and General Counsel Jeff Harvey, although transfer of operations was expected to take between 90 and 120 days. The transfer to El Paso will include production equipment at the Bristol site, he said.
Aerus will continue handling product development, sales and marketing and franchise-ownership opportunities, according to the statement. About 100 support and administrative jobs were to remain at the Bristol plant.
Harvey, when asked whether any jobs were cut effective Thursday, said "not many, even if there were any." The statement called the closing and transfer a step in "Aerus' commitment to continuous improvement and cost-rationalization of all company activities."
The three-decade-old Bristol operation, which began as Electrolux, was bought in 1998 by Engles, Urso, Follmer Capital Corp. and renamed Aerus. Urso is a partner and CEO of Engles, Urso, Follmer. Aerus shut down its 200-employee plant in Piney Flats last year, followed by two rounds of Bristol facility layoffs totaling 100 employees from last August to November.
"We look for opportunities to realize economies of scale," Harvey said of the production transfer. "We specifically were concerned and sought an opportunity to improve outsourcing for our production." Harvey, when asked whether the remaining Bristol operation would be moved to a smaller facility and the existing Aerus plant sold, said the company had no "immediate plans to do so."
When asked whether the shutdown was due to foreign product competition, he said it was not.
Aerus President James Scott said in Thursday's statement that the company plans to "make the transition as smooth as possible and will involve the assistance of various state agencies and private outplacement services."
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**"Employees filed into the plant Thursday morning to attend a teleconference" -- what a cowardly, chicken-shit way to tell people they're losing their jobs.
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Employees react to news of plant closing
by MIKE STILL
Bristol Herald Courier
Friday, March 14, 2003
Employees of Aerus Electrolux in Bristol Virginia leave the building for lunch Thursday hours after learning that the plant will be closed in May.
Not many of the employees leaving the Aerus Electrolux plant in Bristol Virginia at lunchtime Thursday wanted to comment about the news they'd just received -- that the facility would be shut down.
But a few said they had concerns about how the company has been managed.
"I'm not angry at this place here," said 15-year employee Eva Hunt as she headed to lunch. "I'm angry at the company for the way they handled things."
Hunt, who works on the plant's hose manufacturing line, said she received her 60-day layoff notice that morning.
The shutdown notice followed layoffs last year of 300 workers at the Bristol plant and at a now-dormant sister facility in Piney Flats. Some remaining employees at the Piney Flats facility were transferred to Bristol at the time.
"We knew it was coming two years ago," Hunt said. "All these people who came from Piney Flats, single mothers and single fathers. I'm 50 years old. Who's going to hire me? Who's going to hire them?"
The Bristol plant, which opened three decades ago as Electrolux, has seen changes as its parent company found itself under new ownership in 1998, when Engles, Urso, Follmer Capital Corp. bought the company.
By 2001, Aerus had sold certain rights to the Electrolux brand name to Swedish-based AB Electrolux -- to "prevent confusion by distinguishing our company from" AB Electrolux.
"It was a good company up until five years ago," Hunt said before driving away.
"When they sold our name, they sold our integrity," said 25-year employee Annie Miller as she left the plant.
Carol Salcido, a 17-year employee, said she didn't know what she'd do next.
"It's been a good place to work," Salcido said.
Bristol Virginia Mayor Doug Weberling said city officials were aware that something was about to happen with the Aerus operation, although its timing was unknown until Thursday's announcement.
"The last few months (Aerus) brought people in to look at the property," Weberling said. "We're disappointed. It seems a shame because everyone said we had such a great work force."
Aerus planned to move production to a plant in El Paso, Texas.
"I don't think they'll find the same quality of work force in El Paso," the mayor said.
Weberling said he expects to see the the Aerus plant sold, although company officials said they had no immediate plans to sell the building, which was to continue housing about 100 support and administrative staff members.
"We'll offer (city Economic Development Coordinator) Jerry Brown any help we can to market the property," the mayor said. "We're hoping that the fiber-optic network we've installed in the city will lead prospects to see the potential uses for that site."
Comes to the Rescue!
