Henry (vacuum)

A Henry vacuum cleaner without the "Henry" on the top

Henry (also known as Henry Hoover, although not made by the brand Hoover) is a canister vacuum made and sold by Numatic. It is most notable for its human-like face on the body of the vacuum cleaner. The vacuum has many variations, including different names on the cap (the most popular being Hetty) and also different models of Henry that have mostly different purposes, such as the Henry Xtra,^[1] Henry 160,^[2] and Henry desktop (which is made by third-party companies, not Numatic) which cleans off desks and tables, as well as variations of the name/colour such as George (green) who is made for carpets and pet hair, and Hetty (pink) which leans towards a female market. Henry vacuums are manufactured and mainly sold in the UK, however, it is possible to get them in the US and other countries through the use of online shopping. Henry has most notably been popular among children for its look.

History

Numatic vacuums with faces on the body/canister (Numatic Henrys did not actually say "Henry" on the cap until 1981) were invented first in 1979, 123 years after the first invention of the vacuum. In 1981, the first Numatic model to say a name on the cap (Henry) was created. The first model of Henry started as somewhat of a toy, with the functionality of a vacuum. The face appealed to children and adults alike, and was very popular for its lovable face. Henry was also one of the first vacuums to use Microfiber dust bags, which are small bags that carry dust and other unwanted materials. Since the introduction of Henry in 1981, it has sold 7-8 million units, with around 20,000 more being sold each week (roughly 2857 per day). In 2017, the EU introduced a new law that gave vacuum cleaners a limit to their wattage, making 900W the maximum.^[3]. This required Numatic to change about 80% of their vacuums, because most of them were 1200W. The new law was meant to conserve power, and also bringing the average cost of vacuum cleaning per year from €11 to €7.

Generic Henrys and Hettys can be found on online shopping websites and in stores. It is uncommon to come across a generic Harry, George, Charles, James, or Jack. They are most common in the UK but can also be found in the United States.

In 2014, Chris Duncan (founder of Numatic, the company who created Henry) got #96 on Management Today's Britain's Top 100 Entrepreneurs and was said to have a worth of £103m.^[4]

Variations

A Henry HVR200 and Hetty HET200

(Here is a full list of Henry vacuum cleaners)

The Henry vacuum has had many variations over its lifetime. The first types of variations are remodels and upgrades. A good example would be the Henry Xtra, a Henry vacuum made specifically for pet owners, with its twin Tritex filters and 3-stage Microfresh system which provides around 97% filtration. Another variation would be the Henry Cordless, which does not have a cord and is powered by a rechargeable battery. The Henry Cordless comes with 2 chargeable batteries, and while turned on, can be turned on "low mode" for less power consumption and less sucking strength, or "high mode" for the highest power on the vacuum but drains the battery faster. Henry has had many changes over its standard model, one of which is the HVR200-11 (Henry 200) and the HVR200M-22 (Henry Micro). These models are just standard Henry models with different sizes, looks, attachments, specs, and prices. For example, the HenryXtra is made specifically for carpets/pets, but the Henry 200 is made for standard vacuuming, not specifically strengthened for carpet.

The second form of Henry variations are name changes, such as George and Hetty (pictured on the left). These variations come with different colors, like James, who is yellow, different names on the hat/head, and (usually) different purposes, like James being much quieter than most other Henrys. All of the different names are Henry, Hetty, Harry, James, George, Charles, and Jack. Jack is a very uncommon Henry vacuum that is now discontinued and can only be found through the secondary market. The way the face looks stays the same throughout all models, but depending on the size of the head/body, the distance between the eyes and the mouth can vary.

Some Henry models opt to instead say "Numatic" on the cap, such as the NBV190. Some even say nothing on the cap and provide a more standard look, like the WV 370, but these are mostly not considered Henrys because models that say nothing on the cap don't have a face. Some models (very few) put other words on the cap, like the MFQ370 which says "Micro-filter."

Another Henry model is the Henry Desktop, which is made by third-party companies, not Numatic. It is used for vacuuming desks and tables and also comes with many accessories.

References