CHICAGO— Since 1939, MetroVac has manufactured floor care appliances here in the U.S. with the aim of providing durable, quality appliances to the consumer.
Since its beginnings, the company has expanded into a global, diversified corporation, and this year is celebrating 60 years since it expanded into the handheld vacuum segment, an anniversary the company will be highlighting at the International Home + Housewares Show, here.
In addition to showcasing its hand vac product lines, the company will be exhibiting a new color option for the segment.
Ken Stern, vp/national sales at MetroVac, said, “Going along with the new color scheme for 2017 to 2018, we are going to be showing a couple of hand vacuums in the new greenery tone, which is riding on the coattails of the kitchen electrics segment; that bold green with yellow undertones.”
He noted, “If in fact the other appliance manufacturers are going to be color coordinating in the kitchen, they’ll have a matching vacuum.”
In addition, the company will be showcasing a new evolution in its household vacuum line, the Metropolitan Professional series. The series is traditionally manufactured in stainless steel with chrome ends, however, Stern said, due to environmental and other factors, the company will be showcasing a new design option.
“This is going to be a little bit of a shift for us as far as what they are going to look like— a satin nickel powder coat finish with black ends. They are still going to be metal, but it won’t be that stainless steel look that you see in consumer appliances. Our bodies are still a very durable, scuff resistant, with everything retailers and consumers have come to expect from MetroVac and that which makes us shine in the industry such as quality, performance and durability,” he said. “Also, because of the fact that we won’t be finishing the vacuums in stainless and chrome, they will be more cost effective.”
According to Stern, the company is also very strongly expanding its global distribution. “The international portion of our business is a huge growth area for us. Interestingly enough, the international community likes products made in the U.S. They like the quality, the durability and the performance, and once we establish a new relationship they aggressively go after that business,” he said.
In addition, Stern noted that more of the company’s e-commerce resellers are looking at the complete MetroVac assortment, from floor care to automotive and computer electronic cleaning systems.
“We find these resellers are diversifying across our different product categories, and becoming a one-stop shop for the MetroVac product line. As a result of that our volume has increased with a number of those online retailers. With a lot more consumers online shopping now we’ve even seen a push for made in the U.S.,” he said.
Stern also noted that the company has upped its game in terms of digital advertising and marketing support for its product lines. “We have this great progress in our visibility out there. We’ve expanded our advertising budget on the digital side, with campaigns on Google. We are tapping into a lot of that technology now, and it does work,” he said. “We are having more visits to our site as a result of that, and we will continue to advertise with both consumer related and digital campaigns.”
Stern said MetroVac is bullish about 2017, and will remain in the niche market that has allowed for its 78 successful years in business.
“It’s very challenging out there, but we found our niche and we’re always developing those areas. They’re working for us,” he said.
