Truvox-Tacony merger creates global giant
February 1st 2007 After its acquisition by US giant, the Tacony Corporation in January,Truvox MD Peter
Holt says the company now competes in many more markets with prices and
product quality that are hard to beat.Brendan Coyne reports
Visitors to Truvox's Cleaning Show stand might be surprised by
the number of new products on show. But according to Peter
Holt, the new lines are merely the tip of the iceberg:The
Tacony deal brings economies on a global scale; a tried and tested
range of floorcare kit; shared product development, engineering and
manufacturing capabilities and major financial backing. In short,
Truvox is now one of the big boys. It plans to give the other major
manufacturers a run for their money.
The company is now part of a full-line supplier of floor care
machines which include the Powr-Flite, CFR,Truvox and Cimex
ranges. In the future, as part of a phased and ongoing new product
development programme,Holt says air movers, and a range of dry
tub vacs,wet/dry vacuums, a wide area vacuum, an upright vacuum
and a backpack vacuum will also be offered at competitive prices.
So does that mean the lowest prices on the market? "I'm loathe to
say the lowest," admits Holt."But certainly prices that people would
not expect from Truvox and we're not known for being expensive. I
hope we're going to be the lowest, but the question isn't just
price because you can cheapen a product just to get the
price down."
However, he says that won't be the case
with Tacony involved.
"Tacony is huge in the home vacuum
market. It has an enormous amount of
buying clout and truly global sourcing
capabilities and can help us through a lot of
the sourcing and engineering change we
would struggle to achieve as an
independent company.There's a lot of
advantages that come with the turf."
One of which is Tacony's Suzhou office,
staffed by American, and Chinese engineers,
enabling the company to source
components that precisely
match their specification,
ensuring quality is as expected.
"All of the [China-based]
engineers use the same kind of
3D tools as us.They work
primarily on sourcing
components and finished goods and
then collaborate with the vendors many of
whom they have worked with for 10 years or more to
ensure the quality that's shipped is the quality we specified," explains
Holt."Meaning we become the master sourcer of extremely
economical components, which, because they come with the Truvox
label, means the customer doesn't
have to worry it all comes with
the usual guarantee."
However, it's not all about
sourcing in China.As this issue went
to press,Tacony acquired another
US floorcare specialist
manufacturer,Tornado, and now has
engineering capabilities in four US
plants besides Southampton and
Suzhou."Their combined expertise,"
says Steve Day, Senor Vice
president,Tacony Corporation
Commercial Floor Care,"means we
can confidently source the best
value for all of Tornado's customers
wherever that value is found, be it
in the USA, Europe or China."
The plan is now to 'Europeanise' some of Tacony's US
product lines, taking them through CE compliance
and adapting them for the UK.
However, says Holt,"we're not
prepared to take any shortcuts, so it
won't happen overnight." But he
admits that Truvox, under
Tacony's stewardship, is busy
implementing the most
intensive campaign of
product introductions in its
history.Which is good news
for distributors.
Holt says there's a "huge
amount" of distributor
interest in the new products,
with trials currently underway
for the next tranche of products,
which later this year will include a
carpet extractor range.At present,
the first choice is to work with
existing distribution channels before
seeking additional partners for
geographical or market coverage as necessary.
Distributors (and end users) interested in finding out
more should visit stand E40 at the Cleaning Show. But be warned,
says Holt: you might get more
than you bargained for. More articles from Truvox International Ltd: | 
