H-P Products
H-P Products is an American manufacturer of vacuum cleaners and related equipment. Founded by Harold Bishop and Paul Schumacher in 1945, H-P is headquartered in Louisville, Ohio. Bishop and Schumacher originally started the company in order to produce gas conversion burners for residential coal furnaces. In 1946, H-P switched to manufacturing hospital cabinets and boat trailers in Louisville.
H-P’s Vacuum History
After a short history of manufacturing expanding metal elbow ends for a tube-bending company in Cleveland and light wall tubing and bends for the Industrial Vacuum Industry, the company turned almost entirely to vacuum-cleaner production. In 1953, H-P’s plant on Broad Street burned to the ground and was rebuilt that same year.
Today, H-P makes a wide range of vacuum systems, including Dirt Devil (central vacuums only) and Turbocat. In 1961, H-P released lightweight, inexpensive plastic tubing that reduced the overall cost of residential central vacuums. The company also manufactures automatic inlet valves and lightweight, flexible plastic hoses.
References
- "Timeline." H-P Products, Inc. 2003. Web. 8 Aug. 2009. <http://www.hpproducts.net/about-timeline.htm>.