HENRY (NUMATIC)
STORY SO FAR
Henry is the cylinder vacuum cleaner produced by Numatic International, founded in 1969 by Chris Duncan in Crewkerne, Somerset. Numatic started out making industrial machines for cleaning coal and gas-fired boilers — Duncan's first prototype was an oil drum with a washing-up bowl on top. The company moved to Yeovil in 1971, then to a Beaminster (Dorset) factory in 1974, where the Henry character was born in 1981. The smiley face and bowler-hat motif were originally a trade-show prank that customers loved enough to keep. Production moved to its current site in Chard, Somerset in 1990. The Henry family has since grown to include Hetty, James, Charles, George, Henry Eco and Henry Cordless variants. Numatic states it has produced over 15 million Henrys, that the brand is in roughly 1 in 4 UK homes, and that Henry is the only mass-produced consumer vacuum cleaner still made in the United Kingdom.
DESIGNED BY
Numatic International's in-house design team at Chard, Somerset. UK-based: Yes.
MADE BY
Per Numatic's own statements: vacuums, accessories and consumables are designed and made at the Chard, Somerset factory. Numatic positions Henry as the only mass-produced consumer vacuum cleaner still manufactured in the UK. No published parts-by-percentage breakdown for sub-components (motors, plastics, etc.), but final assembly and the headline product is UK-made.
TO BUY
FURTHER INFORMATION
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numatic_International
Further research reading
https://numatic.com/uk/about/company-history/
Region Made
