Maytag & Newton Iowa...and now, for the rest of the story

[jetaction]

My Partner and I stayed in Newton Iowa this past weekend. This is where the Maytag comapny has been based since the beginning, I think 1909 or something close to that. Scott wanted to go to the Iowa Fair, which was a fun time. We stayed at a historic B&B, one in which the original owner was a banker and lent money to EH & FL Maytag to get the Maytag company going. We visited the Maytag store, chatted with a few retired employees, visited the Maytag Dairy farm where the famous Maytag bleu cheese is made, (even watched a great video about how this is still all done by hand)Found the Maytag graves in the cemetary, (placed a flower on EH's-in thanks for bringing us all of the quality appliances through the years, toured the historical society and museum with a great historical display of Maytag appliances from the very first up tot he Neptunes. Everyone in Newton is abuzz about the state of Maytag, and to say they are very sad is an understatement. They understand if Whirlpool buys it, it is gone. If Triton buys it, it will eventually leave. To quote a worker at the Maytag Dairy farm, "For years we thought we walked on water beacuse of the quality of the Maytag products. We are all so stunned and saddened that poor decisions have brought us to this point." Newton will be devestated with the loss of Maytag, which now seems eminant. We can all be thankful to own the machines we have, and have been part of the ride! Scott and I also drove to Pella, and made a few stops in small town Iowa. What a great weekend, but very sad at the same time. I've had these 806's for about a year and a half, thoght I would post their pic in honor of "What Was...."

 

[tlee618]

What a beautiful set that is Don, a wonderful reminder of better days for Maytag. I am sure that Newton is feeling very sad these days. Such a helpless feeling as there is nothing they can do to change what will be. Glad that you and Scott had a fun weekend. How nice that you remembered to put a flower on EH's grave. Terry

 

[Washaholic]

Great looking machines

 

[peteski50]

Cool Set!

Real nice set. I love the color!
Best of Luck
Peter

 

[agiflow]

Reading that post made me well up with such anger. It just goes to show where peoples priorities are at. Looking at this Maytag pair, i really cannot believe we will never see the likes of such a quality product again.

Trends seem to do such destruction to what is time tested and true. Who would have ever thought an appliance maker of such a long standing tradition of quality could face what they are facing now.

I thought the Maytag/WP merger would be good for Maytag, but now i really do not see it. Thank God there are plenty of the old Dependable care models out there.

Sorry for the rant,....it is all so sad,...i really am sorry to see an icon go.

Pat

 

[maytagbear]

Just breaks my heart....

Maybe it is inevitable, but I would like to think not.

It really saddens me to see more manufacturing going off-shore. Whirlpool will build more off-shore.

I still believe that it is better that Whirlpool instead of Haier buys Maytag, but I'm not whooping with glee and doing cartwheels (if I could do cartwheels, that is.)

Part of it is (mis)management, labor, loss of company focus, stockholder pressure, and the overwhelming (and largely idiotic) quest for price over quality.

Makes me wish we had a sensible industrial policy in this country. I am not calling for governmental control, not at all, but some unifying principles, maybe? I really think that the United States is in real danger of losing most or all of our heavy industry.

By forcing individual companies to fund employee and retiree health care, the US loses a competitive edge.

I feel deeply sorry for all Maycor employees, especially those in their 50's and 60's who may have serious trouble finding another job. Employment discrimination based on age is ugly and illegal, but still exists.

At least we had marvellous appliances once upon a time.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[rinso]

This really is sad. Maytag in Iowa has always been a part of Americana. I have often wondered if Fort Wayne Indiana had much the same sadness when Phillips acquired Magnavox. The only positive note is that at least it will be a merger/acquisiton instead of an assasination like WCI did to the Frigidaire name and quality.

 

[chestermikeuk]

Remembering The Great Days!!!

Hi Don

Glad you enjoyed the trip and so poignant considering all thats happening, just glad we got to see it this year of all years...

Its so saddening to hear the stories of all the people who have worked their....it sound just like the original Servis company in UK, owned independant business, which went the same way...for the benefit of the shareholders pocket..

Those Maytags look a fine specimen of a washing duet.. look forward to seeing the collection on my next visit perhaps.

Cheers

Mike

 

[filterflo]

Let us not forget, as goes Maytag, so goes Hoover. Here in the N. Canton Ohio area the saddness of both Maytag and Hoover weigh heavily on us all..........

 

[appnut]

Don thank you for the note; the beautiful pic; teh respect you paid to EH. It's gut-wrenching. It's still all beyond comprehension for me, as it has been for hte last 10 years to see Maytag slide.

 

[gansky1]

Thanks for the report Don, I suspected you would see the sad emotions - I really wish we could have gone! Damn work! Oh well, we still are fairly close and will make it over there soon. Maytag really lost their way when they started snapping up Admiral/Tragic Chef, JennAir, Hoover, etc. They thought they could make a fortune buying up these smaller and fading companies and it only served to be more nails in their own coffin. Alas, like many American icons, this too shall pass...

 

[mayken4now]

Oh Don

The story (being a Maytag fan since childhood, now almost 44yo) almost brought me to tears. I cannot believe all that has happend to this once well renound company. "I thought we walked on water with Maytag's quality". The folks in Newton are really taking this hard (and should). I would be too. It is like the rest of the corporate USA, all is liquid anymore. They care nothing about you are the product, just filling their FAT pockets with more more more.

This is a very touching story.

Thanks for sharing and giving us the chance to view your wonderful machines.

Steve

 

[dalangdon]

Bad news for us, bad news for Iowa

Very sad and troubling news. Newton is a great little town, and losing Maytag is going to be a crippling blow.

With Iowa's industrial base shrinking and much of the farmland going over to offshore and corporate concerns, you have to wonder how they are going to keep up the excellent public education system and other state programs. Add in the aging population and it gets even more problematic.

Very sad indeed.

 

[tomturbomatic]

If Maytag goes under, I wonder if we could help some of these guys by offering small honoraria in exchange for some oral history of how things were designed and built. Maybe we could find out some of the skeletons in the combo's closet and maybe get names of firms where some parts were made. We could find some resources, I sure would contribute, to entice them to do show and tell. Greg's basement shrine to laundry would be a perfect spot and not too far away. It would be recorded and DVDs could be sold. Can you imagine the thrill of having a Maytag employee who knew something about the old machines standing there discussing the whys and wherefores of particular elements of design? I realize that we are not going to find people who built AMPs, but we might find someone who knew some Maytag lore.

 

[pulsatron]

I blame consumers generally for this

I think this is very sad, but I do tend to blame the consumers in society for this, because if consumers were prepared to pay more for quality and not buy cheap imports these companies renowned for quality would still prosper.
However here I guess most people would rather pay about 500-600 dollars for an L.G. or Samsung washer than pay 1200 dollars for a Maytag even though the Maytag would outlast these things and over time would save them money as they would not be buying another machine in 3-4 years time.
I realise most people only have limited income, but hey!, they mostly use credit cards and the like to buy anyway so what if you spend more just pay back a bit more each time.
I also use myself as a study case, when I bought my Side-By-Side fridge about a year I could have paid about $1500 dollars for Samsung or L.G but they just look cheap and nasty so I went to the local Kleenmaid showroom and paid $2500 for a G.E. which so far at least works perfectly.
So that is my 2 cents worth.
Cheers people.

 

[tcox6912]

Not always a question of money

I paid nearly $2000 for my LG set, which was quite a bit higher than the Maytag units. My reason: Six years ago I bought a Neptune front loader and ended up selling it for less than half price after the first year. It was a horrible machine and it needed one repair after another. I prefer to pay more and get quality; unfortunately, their level of quality was slipping.

 

[peterh770]

I still think a few of us should put together a business plan and presentation to the stockholders and put in a bid to run Maytag and build it back up to a true American icon...

 

[swestoyz]

My Love for Maytag

I've always loved the idea that my clothes have been washed in a Maytag since day one for me. I've also always loved knowing that I live in the founding state of Maytag, and am (still) very proud of it. I remember as a kid (okay, it was the 80's) driving through Newton, and my dad showing me the factory, and how cool it was to know that the machine we had was probably made there.

I also remember how happy my mom was when she bought her new matching Neptune set in the spring of 98. I thought it was the coolest machine. It didn't take long for us to realize that the quality was not the same as the A806 (a Series 00) it had replaced. Earlier this Spring when my mom was calling Maytag about the legal issues and settlement, the nice voice on the other side of the phone admitted to my mom, "They aint yo-r muther's Maytag's". It is funny, because my Grandma always had her Maytags too.

I think the photo provided are machines that can be considered the pinnacle of Maytag washing machines, and in one damn cool color!

Ben

 

[rinso]

When we were married, my wife and I had exactly the same set pictured here only in what they called shaded avocado. We even had the matching gas dryer. This was in 1969. She still has the set, and both machines are in perfect working order and pristeen appearance to this day.