Sebo

SEBO is the brand name of vacuum cleaners made by Stein & Co GmbH, a company based in the German town of Velbert. They produce a range of upright and cylinder vacuum cleaners for domestic and commercial use. Sebo vacuum cleaners are endorsed by Allergy UK (the British Allergy Foundation). Sebo stands for SEmigewerbliche BOdenpflege, German for semi-commercial floor care. History and commercial heritage SEBO was established in 1978 by two German engineers, Klaus Stein and Heinz Kaulig, who were seeking to build a reliable, powerful and easy to use commercial upright vacuum cleaner. Klaus Stein had previously worked at Vorwerk, the manufacturer of the Kobold vacuum cleaner since 1929. The first SEBO factory was located in Velbert, West Germany in a disused weaving factory where they developed in 1978 the SEBO 350 upright commercial vacuum cleaner. The 350 was their first upright vacuum cleaner and it was engineered for commercial uses. The company understood that most cleaning staff weren't motivated to perform simple maintenance or be concerned about the operational status of the machine; their job was to clean the floor and their employer provided a machine so that they could do their job. If the machine was "complicated" for the employee to use, then the machine isn't any good. They still had to vacuum, but didn't care that the machine needed the disposable filter bag to be changed, readjusted for different floor surfaces, or that there was a clog somewhere. With that in mind, it offered a degree of functionality that didn't require the user to read an operations manual before using. It was equipped with a commercial-grade motor that could run continuously for 1000 hours or 41 days. The 350 was designed to pass the hardest test; to survive the abuse and neglect of cleaning professionals. Due to the patented technical features that allowed effective cleaning of all kinds of carpets and bare floors, plus the ability to clean in the tightest corners, the 350, which indicated that the brush vibrator bar was , was sold and used in hotels, hospitals and offices. With the addition of features like a clutch-protected brush roller, a by-pass motor and hospital-grade filtration, the first SEBO found acceptance in the market by 1979. Commercial cleaning manufacturers such as Windsor Kärcher and Jeyes Hygiene re-branded SEBO uprights under their own name during the early 1980s. In 1986, the SEBO 360 was launched to replace the 350.