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Thread: Shop-Vac is going out of business

  1. #1
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    Shop-Vac is going out of business

    Apparently their prospective buyer walked away, and so they closed the entire company this morning. Employees were let go, and supposedly their insurance and benefits were completely dropped.

    https://www.northcentralpa.com/busin...122c9e71c.html
    And there was trouble, taking place...

  2. #2
    Very sad for the employees there.

  3. #3
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    Sad indeed. I hate to see anyone lose their job no matter what. The product line has been waffling for several years with lackluster performance at a premium price in their arena. In California you can opt for COBRA but, the cost is quite high.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  4. #4
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    How does COBRA work if the company is out of business? I bet someone snaps up the brand name to put on Chinese vacuums.

    I am surprised they were that low on cash that they had to lay off everyone the same day as the announcement. Even the office employees only have jobs through the end of the week.
    Last edited by Brian Elfert; 09-15-2020 at 8:00 PM.

  5. #5
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    I feel sad for the employees too, but I can't see much loss in terms of the product leaving the market. I've used (tried to use, anyway) with a few Shop Vac brand vacuums, and they were markedly inferior to Craftsman and Ridgid vacs of the same approximate era, in my opinion, mainly due to the poorly designed filter. Maybe the new ones were better, I haven't used one made in the last 20 years or so.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Elfert View Post
    How does COBRA work if the company is out of business?
    That's a good question because "normally", folks taking advantage of COBRA (err...paying extra for it) is when the company plan is still in force and the subscriber who no longer works there is paying the extra premium to cover the employer cost plus the employee cost, more or less. In this case, they may be hosed unless the carrier will cover them on an individual policy. Fortunately open enrollment season is soon to be here for individual plans and they may be able to sign up sooner because of the "change of status".

    To the original point, it's very sad when a well-known brand manufacturer has to throw in the towel, particularly for the workers.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #7
    That's one of the weaknesses of COBRA - the company has to be in business. If the company is in business, you can "tag on" for 18 months by paying the company for the premiums on the health care.

    Then California enacted CALCOBRA which gives you an additional 18 months beyond regular COBRA, although I think there are some limitations on CALCOBRA. So in California you can get three years of coverage after losing your job - with you paying for it, of course.

    But I'm pretty sure the company has to be in business and have health insurance for other employees. It's good if you were working for a big company and just got laid off - and the company is still in business.

    Mike

    [This would be very valuable to someone who is about 62 when they were laid off. With COBRA and CALCOBRA they can keep health insurance for three years at a decent price. If they had to go on the open market for health care it would cost a fortune because of their age (probably over $1,000/mo for one person).]
    Last edited by Mike Henderson; 09-15-2020 at 8:57 PM.
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zachary Hoyt View Post
    I feel sad for the employees too, but I can't see much loss in terms of the product leaving the market. I've used (tried to use, anyway) with a few Shop Vac brand vacuums, and they were markedly inferior to Craftsman and Ridgid vacs of the same approximate era, in my opinion, mainly due to the poorly designed filter. Maybe the new ones were better, I haven't used one made in the last 20 years or so.
    Emerson Electric made/makes the Craftsman and Ridgid shop vacs. I never wanted a Shop-Vac because they seem to require a bag instead of dumping into the the canister. I have a Ridgid from back when Home Depot practically gave them away on Black Friday.

    I noticed that Menards now has Masterforce shop vacuums made in China. The Chinese stuff can't have helped Shop-Vac.

  9. #9
    The problem I always had with ShopVac units were that they were LOUD. The Ridgid vacs had a range of loudness - the cheap ones were loud and the more expensive were quieter. If I recall, they gave you some number that indicated the relative loudness.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  10. #10
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    I've thought the same thing for years. A Shop-Vac labled 2HP means that 1119 watts is consumed producing noise, and the remaining 373 watts produce vacuum. I had an old Eureka vacuum cleaner from the 1960s that was whisper quiet in comparison, and out-vacuumed any shop vac I've ever used.

  11. #11
    If your employer has a good plan, you might be paying a lot for cobra. I'm paying $1800/month (For my wife and I) for cobra medical and prescriptions through my employer presently. Great plan, but it costs.

  12. #12
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    My issue with ShopVacs was the bearings would go out prematurely and would get this terrible growl as they were spinning down when shut off. Still use my wall mounted garage version with the long hose. Went with Craftsman for my last shop vac.
    NOW you tell me...

  13. #13
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    I've use 2 or 3 Shop-Vacs over the years (never owned one) & they were all junk compared to other economy brand vacuums like Craftsman or Ridgid. I'm surprised the have been around as long as they have.

    I thing Ridgid are about the best value in shop vacuums.

  14. #14
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    Given that B&D bought Craftsman from Sears, and that Lowes now carries Craftsman tools I wonder if Lowes might have had plans to replace it's Shop-Vac vacs with Craftsman and/or Dewalt vacs, which meant a large customer loss for Shop-Vac.

    I also feel sad for the shop-vac employees, saying it suck's never seemed so appropriate.
    Last edited by Mike Soaper; 09-16-2020 at 10:59 AM.

  15. #15
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    I know this is going to sound snarky but this is good old fashioned Capitalism at work. The workers get shafted again. Capitalism itself is not bad but unbridled unregulated Capitalism is not good either. Good government should be the regulator of Capitalism and see to it that it plays fair for everyone, worker, investor and consumer. Did I say GOOD government? unfortunately we don’t seem to believe that exists and refuse to make our legislators create one.

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