This week we rewind the clock to 1960 and take a look behind the curtain in Maytag Plant #2. This is unused footage for the previously released film "Eddie, Inc." Pretty cool!
Maytag Plant #2 - 16mm Film
- Thread starter cadman
- Start date
This will be interesting to see.
vacerator
Well-known member
Those are Highlander machines
Why are they called highlander?
This one also has some great shots of the factory at work! Really fascinating to see, thank you again Cory!!!
vacerator
Well-known member
I didn't know why they're called Highlander models but I learned that on this forum. They have the chrome accent on the cabinet and a red agitator.
The Highlander models were considered as budget grade products. I suppose they called them that because it referred to Scotland, and Scottish thriftiness. I remember them using that theme in their advertising I don't know for sure, but maybe Maytag is a Scottish name.
vacerator
Well-known member
May as in May, tag as in day in Deutsch. Freitag is Friday, also a sir name.
Were there also Bluebird models?
Were there also Bluebird models?
launderess
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launderess
Well-known member
As pointed out in YT video one linked (Thank You, Cory), Maytag Highlander was introduced as a budget priced line. Dealers needed something to compete with Whirlpool's products being sold via Sears (Kenmore). There one could find something at various price points so Sears didn't lose sales.
Maytag then also didn't have lower priced line dealers could upsell from. Anyone who has done sales knows the score. Lure them in with budget conscious offering and see where that goes. If customer wants something a bit more you can upsell them to higher priced line. OTOH if that fails you can still sell them something.
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phillymatt53
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I agree, Hyacinth.
launderess
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Maytag is anglicized version of German name "Maitag".
In common with many other immigrants at the the time Fred L. Maytag's father changed spelling of his name upon arriving in USA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Louis_Maytag_I
Curious question, but why was the mechanism back serviceable instead of front serviceable at the time?
vacerator
Well-known member
My guess is production efficiency. A single piece of sheet steel folded to three sides instead of a separate front. Fewer fasteners. My aunt had a set with a gas dryer. A family of nine and they lasted until the late seventies. As my dad was a Sears service tech, she replaced them with Kenmore. She also got a new Kenmore side by side fridge at the same time replacing their 1967 Coldspot sXs.
I just see all those repetitive motion injuries from the guy wiring the fill valves....
phillymatt53
Well-known member
It's all part of the working man's life for centuries.
But consider this...
Injuries sustained on the job has its perks too.
And we wouldn't have what we do today if it wern't for manual laborers.
I spent 45+ years in repairs, digging into circuit boards, chassis, climbing under consoles stereos, changing picture tubes, etc.
It kept me fed and paid the bills, among other things.
vacerator
Well-known member
Yes, and O.S.H.A. did not exist yet. Of course if some companies and politicians had their way, it would be abolished now.
launderess
Well-known member
To give an idea what Maytag was up against vis-à-vis Sears Roebuck go to page 1036 of linked 1957 Fall/Winter catalog.
https://christmas.musetechnical.com/
Sears was offering a "budget" 10lb capacity fully automatic washer for $179.95 (cash) without Sudsomatic and $199.95 (cash) with suds saver.
Sears Christmas Wishbook of 1957 featured a fully automatic at $254.95.
https://archive.org/details/1957-sears-christmas-wishbook-catalog/page/366/mode/2up
Sears Roebuck (later just Sears) was the Amazon of their time. Besides stand alone stores in shopping centers, malls and elsewhere there was their catalog division which had a vast coast to coast nationwide distribution. Sears early on (one of if not the first) harnessed power of layaway and or credit.
It's worth noting Sears at the time sold more Whirlpool appliances (rebadged as Kenmore or whatever) than the manufacturer itself, that's saying something.
This is what Maytag was up against. Maytag needed to produce products that could support dealers or the latter may look elsewhere.
By late 1950's post war economic boom was going strong in USA. People were ditching wringer washers in droves and looking to buy fully automatic. In terms of new sales fully automatic washers were killing semi-automatics such as wringers.
Maytag long represented quality washing machines, this going back to their wringer washers that always ranked number one in consumer testing. That quality didn't come cheap however. So if you had a ten dollar itch and only five dollars to scratch it with you either went with a refurbished/trade in model, or perhaps looked elsewhere for a brand new washer at lower cost.
For department stores or others that carried a few or several different major appliance lines, this may not have been so bad. After all a sale is a sale. OTOH it was small independent Maytag dealers who were left in the lurch being unable to offer customers something in the "budget" range.
The only Maytag budget line was their performa. That's what I remember.
Please explain how it was Scott inspired.
phillymatt53
Well-known member
I noticed in the one video the Scottish Kilt print decorating the displays and on the washers.
Also the opening bagpipe music in that video.
launderess
Well-known member
Maytag "Performa" line came out in 1990's and (IIRC) was not their own design, but what they acquired by purchasing Magic Chef which also brought them Norge. This ill fated move was again Maytag trying to offer a cheaper line of appliances, this time against their famous Dependable Care line of washers/dryers.
https://automaticwasher.org/threads/amanatags-and-others.6116/
Back on topic, in 1957 Highlander line was Maytag's first budget line of laundry appliances.
launderess
Well-known member
"Anybody so cheap as to wade into a quicksand bog after one golf ball shows the classic spirit of a Highlander!"
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThriftyScot
https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2015/01/23/stereotyping-scots-as-cheap/
launderess
Well-known member
Listen to AW.org member break it down.
phillymatt53
Well-known member
Well, I swear!
I guess that even though I'm Polish, and frugal in some things, that makes me a cheapo old Polack.
Thanks for another fun video Cory
I was kind of amazed that they bothered putting those quick connect brass fittings on all the inlet valves so that the machines could be hooked up and disconnected quickly when they were doing the final testing, all those fittings still had to be screwed onto the valves when the valves were assembled and then off of the valves before the machine was shipped, but I guess they figured it was faster to get them on and off the turntable quickly for testing.
I’ve always been kind of surprised that they still water test every new washer that comes out of whirlpools Clyde, Ohio plant, with quality control so good today wouldn’t seem necessary to test them, but I guess they wanna be sure there’s nothing worse than a new machine leaks.
John L
I was kind of amazed that they bothered putting those quick connect brass fittings on all the inlet valves so that the machines could be hooked up and disconnected quickly when they were doing the final testing, all those fittings still had to be screwed onto the valves when the valves were assembled and then off of the valves before the machine was shipped, but I guess they figured it was faster to get them on and off the turntable quickly for testing.
I’ve always been kind of surprised that they still water test every new washer that comes out of whirlpools Clyde, Ohio plant, with quality control so good today wouldn’t seem necessary to test them, but I guess they wanna be sure there’s nothing worse than a new machine leaks.
John L
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