The latest from the world of Central Vacuums
I hope to use this forum to keep you updated on the latest breaking news from our industry. The few trade journals that cover our industry are quite weak and almost all the reporting is simply manufacturers bragging about color changes or repackaged products.
Here’s a few tidbits from CEDIA.
First, the Filtex brand name is back. The name began in the late 40’s I believe as a portable vacuum sold door-to-door. Originally based out of Los Angeles, they added central vacuums on in the late 50’s. They actually used to make a few parts for us in the early 60’s and we made a few parts for them also. They company was sold a few times to VSI, Nader Mfg, M&S, and Chamberlain. Chamberlain sold out their central vacuum division to Linear late last year and apparently everyone forgot about the name. Well Lindsay Manufacturing noticed the gap and wisely picked up the name. So we now have a re-invented central vacuum called “Filtex” that looks just like a Vacuumaid. It is blue and silver will likely be sold to the builder/installer market.
Beam had their new”Prism” RF (Radio Frequency) hose at the tradeshow. I believe it contained two-way communication verifying that the power unit was operating with a led light on the end of the hose. (Something MD has had for 4 years). They really weren’t showing off the hose at CEDIA and no one we spoke to said they demonstrated it. Also they had their Electrolux Power Brush at the show but we noticed that the neck was completely broken off of the mount. They state that this was only a sample piece and not a production item so it will ikely be strengthened before they introduce it. Maybe they can’t slam it on the ground like we do when we demonstrate our Stealth Brush?
Also Beam had a new Electrolux Solaire unit at the show. It was an aqua green color and rather small. We’ll be posting the stats of it on our website as soon as we can.
Nutone displayed their new style unit that is egg-shaped and plastic. It looks cool but we really doubt that it will improve their performance. Somebody has to teach their booth design crew to install vacuums. This is the second show in a row where they installed their tees completely backwards! No one coming to our booth even mentioned that they saw it.
Of course MD, as always had a ton of new things. Their 5.0 version of the AirForce was a big hit turning off when the phone or door bell rings, but this version now offers a fool-proof way to check all the communication before you leave the job site. Simple test procedures are now built into every device to determine background noise, signal strength, and if any devices are not on the same phase. A laptop computer can also be used to run a series of tests to determine fluxuations over time. All this, without having to run low voltage wires. They even demonstrated turning the unit and or the power brush on and off from any laptop that had the software installed! MD also has it’s new CentraMop attachment that essentially gives you a “swiffer” on the end of the central vacuum wand. It’s pretty cool. And then they introduced their new website with new graphics and a far-easier means of drilling down into the tons of info found there.
Hope this helps bring you up to speed. I’ll be telling you more as the weeks progress.