ReferenceUpdated October 2026
Who owns which central vacuum brand
The name on the power unit no longer tells you who built it or who stands behind the warranty. Beam has had three owners since 2018, NuTone left the business, Kenmore is coming back under a license, and most of the Canadian brands now share one factory. Here is the current map, every sale and license we could document, and the chain each big name has passed through.
Late 2026
Who owns what today
Grouped by owner. A year after a brand is when that owner acquired it; "license" means the owner builds units under someone else's name. Brands with a hub on this site are linked.
Les Industries Trovac
Blainville, Quebec · Founded 1960
- Cyclovac
- Beam · 2024
- Canavac · about 2024
- Hayden power units · 2017
- DuoVac · 2024
- Husky · 2024
- Smart · 2024
- InterVac · 2024
- SoluVac · 2024
- M Vac
The largest owner of North American central vacuum brands since it picked up Beam and the rest of the Nuera Air portfolio in 2024. Beam units it has built since September 2024 carry Trovac's warranty; earlier units do not.
Drainvac International
Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec · Founded 1982
- Drainvac
- NuTone central vacuum · 2023
- Broan central vacuum · 2023
- Venmar central vacuum · 2023
- Kenmore central vacuum · license, 2026
- PurVac
Family-founded wet-and-dry specialist that bought the NuTone, Broan and Venmar central vacuum line in 2023 and won the Kenmore license in 2026. NuTone parts and support now run through Drainvac.
H-P Products
Louisville, Ohio · Founded 1945
- Vacuflo
- Element
- Dirt Devil central vacuum · license, 2000
- Royal and Platinum Force central vacuum · license
Family-owned maker of pipe, fittings and Vacuflo units. It builds Dirt Devil central vacuums under license from the brand's owner, TTI Floor Care, and is the US distributor for Hide-A-Hose and SEBO powerheads.
Lindsay Manufacturing
Ponca City, Oklahoma · Founded 1956 as Thermodynamics
Fourth-generation family company. Its motors come from Ametek Lamb, like most of the industry's.
Hide-A-Hose Inc.
Monroe, Washington
Independent and family-owned; holds the retractable hose patents from 2006 onward. Sold through the Vacuflo dealer network in the US since 2008.
Nadair International
Quebec
OVO is the online retail brand, the one you will find on Amazon; Nadair is the company behind it.
Canplas Industries
Barrie, Ontario · Founded 1966
Makes the inlet valves and fittings behind many brands, including the SuperValve electrified inlet and the ElectraValve. Listed in industry directories as part of the Aliaxis group.
Johnny Vac
Montreal · Founded 1982
Distributor with its own house brand. Its president and two partners owned Cana-Vac from 2017 until Trovac took it over.
Brand owners outside the industry
- TTI Floor Care: Dirt Devil, Royal and Hoover marks
- Madison Industries: Broan-NuTone, out of central vacuum since 2023
- Kenmore & Brands: Kenmore, licensed to Drainvac
- AB Electrolux: no central vacuum business since 2018
- Midea: Eureka; its central vacuum line ended in 2016
Names that still appear on units and parts but whose owners do not make central vacuums. Support comes from the licensee or from whoever bought the line.
Component makers
- AMETEK: Lamb Electric motors, Kent, Ohio
- Wessel-Werk, Reichshof, Germany: EBK powerheads
- SEBO / Stein & Co., Velbert, Germany: ET powerheads
- Plastiflex, Beringen, Belgium: hoses
- Cen-Tec Systems, Bloomington, Illinois: hose kits and powerheads
The suppliers behind the brands. Most North American power units run an Ametek Lamb motor, and the same Wessel-Werk and SEBO powerheads turn up in several makers' kits.
European makers
- Nilfisk, Copenhagen
- Aertecnica TUBÒ, Cesena, Italy
- Disan, Bolzano, Italy
- Allaway, Jyväskylä, Finland
Separate market with 32 and 35 mm hose ends; none of these units or hoses is confirmed to fit North American inlets.
Lineage
The chain each name has passed through
Read left to right. Each step is a change of owner or builder; the last step is where the brand sits now.
- Sampson family, 1957
- AB Electrolux, 1987
- Nuera Air, 2018
- Trovac, 2024
Warranty on units built from September 2024 is Trovac's; for a Nuera-era unit, ask the dealer who installed it.
- Corbett family, 1936
- Scovill, 1967
- Valor, 1987
- Williams plc
- Nortek (Broan-NuTone), 1998
- Madison Industries, 2021
- Line sold to Drainvac, 2023
PurePower units are discontinued; bags and parts continue through Drainvac.
- Stratford, Ontario founders
- Beaulac, Rimondi and Lewis, 2017
- Trovac, about 2024
- Hayden Industries
- Inlets and fittings to Canplas, by 1994
- Power units to Trovac, 2017
The SuperValve inlet is a Canplas product today; Hayden-branded power units are Trovac's.
Husky, DuoVac, Smart, InterVac
- Separate Quebec and Florida makers
- Nuera Air
- Production halted April 2024
- Trovac, 2024
- Eureka-Williams
- AB Electrolux, 1974
- Built by Beam from 2007
- Brand to Midea, 2016; line ended
- Sears house brand
- Transformco, then Kenmore & Brands
- Licensed to Drainvac, 2026
Pre-1987 Kenmore inlets are proprietary; see the inlet guide before buying a hose for an old one.
- Royal Appliance brand
- Licensed to H-P Products, 2000
- Royal bought by TTI, 2003
- Still built by H-P
- US Electrolux Corp., separate from the Swedish parent from 1968
- Sold to private owners, 1998; renamed Aerus
- AB Electrolux regains the North American name, about 2000 to 2003
- Central vacuums built by Beam, 1987 to 2018
Every documented deal
Sales, licenses and exits since 1957
- 1957
Beam Industries formed
Beam Manufacturing is sold and Beam Industries emerges in Webster City, Iowa under R.L. Sampson, making only central vacuums.
- 1967
NuTone sold to Scovill
The Corbett family sells NuTone to Scovill Manufacturing; Valor of the UK buys it in 1987 and Williams plc later.
- 1974
Electrolux buys Eureka
AB Electrolux acquires Eureka-Williams; the Eureka name later goes on Beam-built central vacuums.
- 1987
Electrolux buys Beam
AB Electrolux acquires Beam from the Sampson family. Every account agrees on the year; no original announcement has surfaced. VacuMaid becomes Lindsay Manufacturing the same year.
- By 1994
Hayden inlets under Canplas
Canplas files the Hayden SuperVac trademark, so Hayden's inlet and fitting business sits with Canplas from at least this date.
- 1998
Nortek buys NuTone
Nortek pays Williams plc $242.5 million for NuTone and forms Broan-NuTone the next year.
- 2000
Dirt Devil central vacuums licensed to H-P
H-P Products begins building Dirt Devil, Royal and Platinum Force central vacuums under an exclusive license from Royal Appliance; H-P's milestones page says 2001. Techtronic Industries buys Royal in 2003 and the license continues.
- 2004
Honeywell line launched through ADI
A Honeywell-branded central vacuum line of four units and three cleaning sets goes to market through the distributor ADI. Parts listings point to Beam as the builder. Electrolux folds Eureka, Frigidaire and Beam into one North American home-care division the same year.
- 2007
BEAM by Electrolux
Beam is rebranded "BEAM by Electrolux Central Vacuum Systems", selling Beam, Eureka and Electrolux central vacuums from one plant.
- 2013
Wessel-Werk bought out of insolvency
Lafayette CapitalPartners buys the German powerhead maker, including its US subsidiary, and keeps the EBK line supplying central vacuum brands.
- 2016
Eureka to Midea; Nortek to Melrose
Electrolux sells the Eureka brand to Midea Group in December and the Eureka central vacuum line ends. Melrose Industries acquires Nortek, NuTone's parent.
- 2017
Trovac takes Hayden; Cana-Vac changes hands
Trovac acquires the Hayden power-unit business on January 1 and relaunches the SuperVac line. On April 10, Cana-Vac of Stratford, Ontario is bought by Alexandre Beaulac of Johnny Vac with Enrico Rimondi and Marvin Lewis.
- 2018
Electrolux sells Beam to Nuera Air
Announced August 8, 2018: Electrolux divests its global central vacuum business to Nuera Air of Laval, Quebec, which already owns Husky and DuoVac. Electrolux leaves central vacuum for good.
- 2019
Nuera buys InterVac
Nuera Enterprises Canada completes its purchase of InterVac Design, the RV and marine central vacuum maker from Palm City, Florida.
- 2021
Broan-NuTone to Madison Industries
Madison Industries agrees to buy Nortek Air, including Broan-NuTone, for about $3.6 billion. The same year IK Partners buys Plastiflex and Howden buys Spencer Turbine.
- 2023
NuTone exits; Drainvac buys the line
Broan-NuTone discontinues central vacuums on August 31, 2023. On September 1, Drainvac announces it has acquired the NuTone, Broan and Venmar central vacuum line.
- About 2024
Cana-Vac joins Trovac
Trovac takes over Cana-Vac and rebuilds the line on its own bodies; dealers reported the change complete by March 2024. The exact date was not announced.
- 2024
Nuera halts; Trovac buys Beam and the rest
Nuera Air stops production of Beam, DuoVac, Husky, SoluVac, Smart and InterVac on April 2, 2024. Trovac acquires Beam in June and builds it from September under its own warranty; the other Nuera brands follow it to Trovac.
- 2026
Kenmore licensed to Drainvac
Kenmore & Brands announces on April 7, 2026 that Drainvac will design, build and distribute Kenmore central vacuums, with a launch expected in the third quarter.
Gold marks acquisitions and licenses, orange sales and exits, teal founding and rebranding. Dates are from press releases, trademark filings and trade press; 'about' marks a change the companies did not date.
Licensed and supplied names
Who really builds it
Several familiar names have never been built by the company whose logo is on the box. This is who makes or made them, and on what basis.
| Name on the unit | Who builds it | Basis | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dirt Devil | H-P Products | Exclusive license from Royal Appliance, then TTI Floor Care | 2000 or 2001; current |
| Royal, Platinum Force | H-P Products | Same license | From 2000 or 2001; current status not published |
| Honeywell | Beam (Electrolux) | Sold through the distributor ADI; builder per parts listings | 2004 to the late 2010s; discontinued |
| Frigidaire | Beam (Electrolux) | Sister brand of the same division | 2000s; none made today |
| Eureka | Beam (Electrolux) | Sister brand of the same division | 2007 to 2016 |
| Electrolux Central Vacuum Systems | Beam | Corporate parent | 2004 to 2018 |
| Kenmore | Drainvac | License from Kenmore & Brands | 2026 |
| NuTone, Broan, Venmar | Drainvac | Acquired line | 2023 |
| Beam, Husky, DuoVac, Smart, SoluVac, InterVac | Trovac | Ownership (Nuera Air from 2018 to 2024) | 2024 |
| Canavac, Hayden SuperVac | Trovac | Ownership | 2017 and about 2024 |
| Hide-A-Hose (US dealers) | Hide-A-Hose Inc.; distributed by H-P Products | Distribution | 2008 |
| SEBO powerheads (US central vacuum dealers) | Stein & Co.; distributed by H-P Products | Distribution | Current |
| Wessel-Werk EBK powerheads | Wessel-Werk | Supplied to many brands' kits | Current |
| Ametek Lamb motors | AMETEK | Supplied to most North American brands | Since the 1960s |
What it means for you
Three situations the ownership changes create
You own a Beam
Units Trovac has built since September 2024 carry Trovac's warranty. A unit from the Nuera years (2018 to early 2024) or the Electrolux years is supported through dealers and the parts channel, not a factory warranty. Bags and filters are unchanged. Beam hub.
You own a NuTone
The PurePower units are discontinued and NuTone itself left the category in 2023. The line, its bags and its parts are now Drainvac's; the 391-series bag is still made. NuTone hub.
You are looking at a Kenmore
A 2026 Kenmore central vacuum is a Drainvac-built unit under license. An old Kenmore from before 1987 has a proprietary inlet with a smaller opening; check the inlet before buying a hose for it.
How the industry got here
From compressed-air carpet renovators in 1899 to the 2 in pipe standard and the retractable hose: the full history, dated and sourced.