Henry (vacuum)

Henry

A Henry vacuum cleaner
Type	Vacuum cleaner
Inception	1981; 41 years ago (1981)
Manufacturer	Numatic International
Available	Yes
Models made	HVR-160 HVR-240 HVB-160 HVX-200 HVR-160 HVR-200M HVA-160 HVW-370
Website	www.myhenry.co.uk

Henry (also known as Henry Hoover) is the brand name given to a canister vacuum cleaner made and sold by Numatic International, and is the only mass-produced consumer vacuum cleaner still made in Britain.^[1] It is most notable for cartoon eyes and mouth on the body of the vacuum cleaner, making a face, with the hose connector or hose as nose. The vacuum cleaner has several variations, including different names on the cap (including Hetty, Harry and James) as well as different models designed for different applications.^[2] The model was introduced in 1981, continues in production, and sells well, but Numatic never advertises Henry and retains no PR agency.^[1]

History[]

Chris Duncan launched Numatic in 1969, having seen a need for a rugged and reliable cleaner to clean the inside of boilers. He started with an oil drum, found a washing-up bowl that fitted on top, and ordered 5,000. The prototype is in the Numatic museum. The two-inch oil drum thread is still used for the Henry models' nose.^[1]

One evening during a trade show in the mid-1970s, Duncan and a salesman, bored, dressed up one of their current commercial cleaners with ribbon, a union flag badge, and something like a hat, then chalked a crude smile under the hose connector. The next day visitors noticed it and laughed; Duncan then decided to ask his advertising people to design a proper face; they nicknamed the result "Henry". At another trade show a children's hospital was interested in the cleaners to encourage the recovering children to help with the cleaning. Production, still focussed on the commercial market, was increased. In 1981 "Henry" became the first Numatic International model to have a name on its cap.^[3][4] Henry was also one of the first vacuums to use large-capacity microfibre dust bags known as HEPA-FLO bags, made of a material that retains dust and is stronger than the paper usually used, which can tear.^[2] Bored office cleaners were talking to Henry in night shifts. From then sales took off. While Numatic are careful never to use the trade name, Henry was often informally called, alliteratively, the "Henry hoover". Duncan commented "We turned an inanimate object into an animate object". Since the introduction of Henry in 1981, at least 10 million units had been sold worldwide by 2017.^[2][5] In 2021 sales were increasing by a million units per year.^[1]

Henry's face was originally printed on the body, but in some markets a face is considered dangerous as it may encourage children to play with the device (although there have been no incidents), so it is now printed on a separate faceplate, installed in the factory for countries without restrictions, otherwise, to be attached by the buyer.^[1]

In 2014, still the company's sole owner, Duncan was listed at #96 on Management Today's Britain's Top 100 Entrepreneurs, and was said to have a worth of £103 million,^[6] estimated to have increased to about £150m in 2021.^[1]

Numatic International also manufacture spray mops, sold under the Henry and Hetty brands as "Henry Spray Mop" and "Hetty Spray Mop".^[7][8]

Henrys were originally manufactured in Beaminster, Dorset, until Numatic moved production in 1990 to Chard, Somerset. Originally the components were manufactured by subcontractors and assembled by Numatic, but the company later began to manufacture most of its own components. Numatic now only sources components manufactured in the United Kingdom, which it advertises as part of its marketing.^[4][9]

Model[]

• Henry Professional (HVR240) - A slightly larger version of the standard (9-litre) model for professional and retail applications.^[10]
• Henry (and Hetty) Compact (HVR160 and HET160) - Smaller and more compact versions of the standard Henry models, 6-litre capacity.^[11]
• Henry Cordless (HVB160) - A more compact version of the standard Henry model running off two 36-volt batteries, 6-litre capacity.^[12]
• Henry Xtra (HVX200 and HVX160) - A version of the standard (9-litre) Henry model designed for carpet care and cleaning pet hairs. A smaller and more compact version of this model (which, like all the other "compact" Henry models, has a 6-litre capacity) also exists.^[13][14]
• Henry Micro (HVR200M) - A version of the standard (9-litre) Henry model designed for reducing exposure to dust-related allergens.^[15]
• Henry Allergy (HVA160) - A smaller, light blue version of the standard Henry model for capturing allergens, 6-litre capacity.^[16]
• Henry Wash (HVW370) - A larger, dark blue version unlike any one of the standard Henry models, carpet cleaner, 15-litre capacity.^[17]

Old Models[]

Numatic[]

• NV200 - Red, originally released without cord storage (rewind and cable hook). It was fully red with black latches, later changed to a red hat with a black furniture guard, then to a black hat with a red drum. NV200 would later have two new additions, a cable hook and a PTO port.
• NV250

Henry[]

• Henry HVC200 - Red, original released without cord storage. HVC200 has a black motor hat and a red base. Early HVC200s did not have a PTO port and users had no option but to use a straight suction floor head or air drive turbine brush. HVC200 ran from 1981 - 1987.
• Henry HVR200 - Launched in 1987, HVR200 is the successor to the popular HVC200, it incorporated a new way to store the cable, using a manual driven reel on the top of his hat. In 1988 Numatic did away with the 800 W motor and introduced their 2-years-long-development' 1000 W motor. HVR200 was also now available in a new colour, beige / brown until 1991. In 1991 or 1992 Numatic mass-produced Henry HVR200 in "Technicolour" (red, green, blue, and yellow) Henry "HVR200" ran from 1987 to 2004. From 1981 to 1988, Henry's name was stuck on with adhesive, in bold red and beige letters however this changed in late 1988 as Numatic started to print the names onto the hats which remains the current process. In late 1997 Henry's name would be outlined in Technicolour however this was changed in mid to late 1998 as his name would be outline in white (1998–present). This was so Numatic didn't have four production lines, it also combated an issue which would occur when refurbishes didn't have a matching drum for Henry's hat. In late 1994 Numatic added a stabiliser to the back of Henry's drum so he wouldn't topple over when being pulled by the hose. In 1999, Henry no longer shipped with a PTO socket, thus eliminating the option to use your new Henry with a 100W Power Nozzle.
• Henry Plus HVR200P -
• Henry HVR200-22 - The successor to the HVR200, this iteration of Henry came equipped with a two-speed PCB. Having the "Hi" setting enabled allowed the user to run Henry at 1200 W, "Lo" would cut Henry's speed by 200 W. By September, Numatic updated the overall design of Henry's hat by adding two rocker switches to a power bank located on the top rear (oppose to the foot operated push button with a Hi-Lo rocker switch on the back above the furniture guard as seen with the Revision 1 Henry HVR200-22). Henry HVR200-22 ran from 2004 - 2009/10. However, it appears to have ran through the late 2010s as some are dated back to 2019, these are 120 V models which indicates they've been ordered directly from Numatic and were not mass-produced.
• Henry Xtra HXT200-22 -
• Sir Henry HVR200 -
• Mr Henry HVR200 -
• Henry Micro HVR200M -
• Henry Turbo HVR204 -
• Henry Turbo HVR200T -
• Henry HVR200T-2 -
• Henry Hound HHR200 -
• Henry Hound HHR200-2 -

James[]

• James JVC225 - released in 1985, James had the top half of a Henry HVR200 and the bottom half of an NV250. Only available in grey, James JVC225 had a cable hook to store the cable. Because of his robust nature, he was tailored to the commercial market. He ran from 1985 - 1988
• James JVR225 - released in 1988, based on the original 1985 James JVC225 model with the addition of a manual driven cord storage system, this iteration of James was also decked out with a new 1000W motor. James JVR225 can also be found in red. James JVR225 ran from 1987 - 1989

Charles[]

• Charles CVC375 - (1983 - 1989, succeeded by Charles CVC370)
• Charles CVC370 - (1989 - 2004, succeeded by Charles CVC370-2)

Nuvac[]

• Nuvac NVE3 -
• Nuvac NNV200
• Nuvac NVNR200
• Nuvac VNP180

George[]

• George GVE370 - George replaced Nuvac NVE3, the All in One Carpet Cleaner. Originally released with a plastic toolkit in 1989 and in green up until 1992, it was later changed to stainless steel. George GVE370 ran from 1989 to 2004.

David[]

• David DVR200 - David is essentially a cheaper Henry HVR200, while he performs the same, his toolkit incorporated plastic wands oppose to stainless steel. David DVR200 ran from 1989 - 1992.

William[]

• William WVC370 - William is essentially a cheaper Charles, while he performs the same, his toolkit incorporated plastic wands oppose to stainless steel. No one has ever seen a picture of William aside from the ones found in Numatic literature. William ran from 1989 but because he has never been seen in person or a photograph, his production run must have ended abruptly due to poor sales.

Edward[]

• Edward EVR370 - Edward is essentially a Henry HVR200 hat on a Charles CVC370 Bucket. Originally released in red, Edward was later produced in yellow. The earliest Edward on YouTube is from 1990 and the latest one is from 2002 but production most likely ended in 2004 along with Henry HVR200, Charles CVC370, George GVE370, & James JVH180, Henry Hound HHR200, & Henry Turbo HVR200T.

Names[]

The vacuums are also available with different names, which are shown on their caps. All the original series are based on English names. Vacuums with different names are generally of different colours and for different applications. Their faces remain identical on all models, except for Hetty, which has long eyelashes. Depending on the size of the head or body, the distance between the eyes and mouth can vary (excluding earlier models, as the faces were originally three stickers applied to the vacuums by hand).

• Basil NB200 - Yellow, lower-cost version of Henry which was also available in red, blue and green. Its colour was later changed to lime green when it was re-released as a Halloween special edition in 2005, discontinued by the end of the year.
• Edward EVR370 - Larger red vacuum with a 15-litre capacity that was also available in blue, green and yellow, now discontinued.
• Charles CVC370 - Larger blue wet-and-dry vacuum with a 15-litre dry and a 9-litre wet capacity which was also available in red, green and yellow at one time. In the late 1980s, this model and some others were also manufactured in cream-and-brown.^[18][19]
• George GVE370 - Larger green "all-in-one" vacuum with a 15-litre dry and a 9-litre wet capacity which was also available in red, blue and yellow at one time. In 2015 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, helped to make several blue instances of this model when he visited the Numatic International factory.^[20][21]
• David DVR200 - Green, introduced alongside George and another green vacuum with a 15-litre capacity called "William" in 1990 as model DVR200, now discontinued. William was a lower-cost version of Charles, discontinued after a short time.^[22]
• Wendy NV250 - Numatic's first "female" vacuum cleaner. Green, introduced in 1997 as a Machine Mart exclusive, now discontinued.^[23]
• James JVP180 - Yellow, professional high performance vacuum with a caddy top and an 8-litre capacity. Originally introduced in 2002 as model NNV200 and coloured purple, it was re-released at a later date, and its colour was changed from yellow to blue in 2019.^[24]
• Harry HHR200 - Green, originally released under the name of "Henry Hound" in 2003 and designed specifically for pet owners.^[25]
• Hetty HET200 - Short for Henrietta, pink "feminine" version of Henry, introduced in 2007 to be marketed towards women. Her face is different from all the other models' in having long eyelashes.^[26][27]
• B&Q Bertie and ScrewFix Bertie (PSP200A) - Orange and Blue, introduced in 2013 as a B&Q and Screwfix limited edition with a caddy top like that of James, now discontinued.^[28]
• John and Lewis (JL150) - Green and Purple, introduced in 2014 as a John Lewis & Partners limited edition, now discontinued.
• Jack (PSP200-11) - Blue, introduced in 2015 as a Tesco limited edition with a caddy top like that of James, now discontinued.

Some Henry models with faces, such as the NBV190, are marked "Numatic" instead of "Henry" on the cap. Some Numatic cleaners, such as the WV370, while of similar appearance to the Henrys have no face and no personal name on their caps. A very few models have other words on their caps, such as "Micro-filter" on the MFQ370.

References[]