Koblenz Vacs similar to Classic Eurekas

In my weekly perusal of eBay ads this week, I came upon a surprising discovery. Someone is selling a vintage Spanish print advertisement for a canister vac that looked strikingly similar to a classic blue Eureka Princess canister cleaner. But the company selling the vac was Koblenz - not Eureka Williams!

This sent me on a hunt to learn more about Koblenz. Here's what I found out:

Koblenz is a very old town in Germany but the vac-maker of the same name is actually based in Mexico! It seems there is no connection whatsoever to Germany. The Mexican company was established in 1959 (the year I was born) and started out as a manufacturer of voltage transformers. In only two years, Koblenz made the bizarre decision to add vacuum cleaners to their product line-up. And the first vacs look amazingly similar to blue Eureka Princess canisters! The two models offered were the Koblenz Celeste and the Koblenz Cometo. I actually found a 1970's Mexican TV Commercial for a Koblenz Devourer too!

I'll download some photos of what I have found this weekend.

Interesting to note that you can now buy Koblenz upright vacuums that look strangely similar to classic Eurekas or Sanitaires with a Dial-a-Nap adjuster.

The question I have: Did Eureka actually produce the vacs for Koblenz? Or did Koblenz sign a contract to use Eureka designs and make them for the Central and South American market?

And how does Thorne Electric of San Antonio, Texas fit into the picture? Thorne apparently acts as the importer and distributor of Koblenz floor care products in the USA.

Here's a link to the YouTube clip I found:

CLICK HERE TO GO TO eurekaprince's LINK


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Post# 327213 6/19/2015 at 10:46 (3,233 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)
Checkrate/Likes In my weekly perusal of eBay ads this week, I came upon a surprising discovery. Someone is selling a vintage Spanish print advertisement for a canister vac that looked strikingly similar to a classic blue Eureka Princess canister cleaner. But the company selling the vac was Koblenz - not Eureka Williams! This sent me on a hunt to learn more about Koblenz. Here's what I found out: Koblenz is a very old town in Germany but the vac-maker of the same name is actually based in Mexico! It seems there is no connection whatsoever to Germany. The Mexican company was established in 1959 (the year I was born) and started out as a manufacturer of voltage transformers. In only two years, Koblenz made the bizarre decision to add vacuum cleaners to their product line-up. And the first vacs look amazingly similar to blue Eureka Princess canisters! The two models offered were the Koblenz Celeste and the Koblenz Cometo. I actually found a 1970's Mexican TV Commercial for a Koblenz Devourer too! I'll download some photos of what I have found this weekend. Interesting to note that you can now buy Koblenz upright vacuums that look strangely similar to classic Eurekas or Sanitaires with a Dial-a-Nap adjuster. The question I have: Did Eureka actually produce the vacs for Koblenz? Or did Koblenz sign a contract to use Eureka designs and make them for the Central and South American market? And how does Thorne Electric of San Antonio, Texas fit into the picture? Thorne apparently acts as the importer and distributor of Koblenz floor care products in the USA. Here's a link to the YouTube clip I found: CLICK HERE TO GO TO eurekaprince's LINK

Post# 327222 , Reply# 1 6/19/2015 at 13:17 (3,233 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)
Checkrate/Likes Here's another TV commercial for a Koblenz canister that looks like a Eureka: CLICK HERE TO GO TO eurekaprince's LINK

Post# 327223 , Reply# 2 6/19/2015 at 13:22 (3,233 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)
Checkrate/Likes And another Koblenz commercial from 1989 - showing off what looks like their version of the Eureka Ironside: CLICK HERE TO GO TO eurekaprince's LINK

Post# 327226 , Reply# 3 6/19/2015 at 13:46 (3,233 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)
Checkrate/Likes Here are a few more pics of the Eureka look-a-likes. The first two pics are of a Princess clone called "Celeste" sold by the Argentinian company Yelmo. The third is a Koblenz upright on the market today which looks like a Sanitaire with a Rugulator height adjuster. The last of the pics is the print advertisement currently being auctioned on eBay: Photos... < > Photo 1 of 5 View Full Size

Post# 327234 , Reply# 4 6/19/2015 at 18:01 (3,233 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)
Checkrate/Likes Found another print advertisement - this time for a Koblenz "Iris".... Sorry it's so small, but zoom in and you'll see that this is a slightly modified version of a Eureka Princess..... View Full Size

Post# 327237 , Reply# 5 6/19/2015 at 20:17 (3,233 days old) by cuffs054 (monticello, ga)
Checkrate/Likes Do we know who/what Koblenz is? It doesn't sound spanish more east europe. Some of the discount catalogs push there polisher.

Post# 327238 , Reply# 6 6/19/2015 at 21:14 (3,233 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)
Checkrate/Likes Koblenz is a Mexican company. Though one of Germany's oldest cities is also called Koblenz, there seems to be no corporate connection. Perhaps the founders of the company immigrated to Mexico from Germany some time before 1959.

Post# 327239 , Reply# 7 6/19/2015 at 22:32 (3,233 days old) by dartman (Portland OR)
Checkrate/Likes *they made Mopar cars there* They made tweaked versions of Mopar cars there for their own markets. They had a version of the Dart that looks similar but different at the same time, plus it was based on the late sixties one like the 69 I own and it was built in the late 70's, so why not make vacuums under license and tweak them to fit their market.

Post# 327261 , Reply# 8 6/20/2015 at 11:52 (3,232 days old) by Miskini (Northville, Michigan )
Checkrate/Likes I really like the look of the koblenz. This is a picture of my mine. Just kidding its Kirbylover dans. I figured since everybody is hijacking his photos on eBay, I might as well. View Full Size

Post# 327794 , Reply# 9 6/23/2015 at 04:29 (3,230 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)
Checkrate/Likes Have some Koblentz machines like the one shown.Good vacuums.