In September 2014, I had the pleasure of joining 28 other Miele dealers from around the country on a trip to Miele’s vacuum cleaner factories in Germany. The trip was literally called “A Quality Journey” by our hosts in Germany and it truly was. Everything Miele does is first class whether it is the tour bus stocked with beer, the delicious meals or extracurricular activities we did in the afternoon. Of course the manufacturing processes are first class as well and that’s what I want to share with you.
The first day was at their plant in Warendorf where they mold the bodies of the various vacuum cleaners. What Miele does different from other manufacturers is use millions of color pellets that are melted then molded so the finished product is the same color through and through. Most other vacuum manufacturers would mold everything in grey, for example, and then paint the plastic. When scratches occur in regular use, the undercoat color would show through. There is potential fading and peeling issues that would not occur with a Miele vacuum.
While many of the assembly processes are automated, there are still humans are along the assembly line inspecting each step in production. Every Miele canister vacuum is tested with a hose to insure that every vacuum we pull out of the box to assemble for you to purchase, is working perfectly. Miele manufactures their own motor as well as other electronic boards to keep quality to the highest standard.
One of the highlights of our trip was each Miele vacuum dealer got to assemble an S7 Salsa Upright!
Every S7 upright is hand assembled – only the testing is automated. This is a picture of me on the assembly line getting the process started. It really speaks to the quality of Miele that each vacuum is completed from beginning to end by the same employee. Because of the quality design and engineering, the components for each S7 upright can be assembled under 10 minutes.
One of the many impressive processes Miele incorporates is the continual testing of selected models off the assembly line. Vacuums are pulled off the line randomly and put through a rigorous set of durability tests. There are too many to mention here but feel free to ask me while in the store.
While vacuum cleaners were the highlight of the tour, we did get to see other appliances being manufactured as well including dishwashers and washing machines. Much of their assembly is done by robots but each finished product is inspected by a highly skilled craftsman.
The gentleman I'm with is Dr. Markus Miele, the fourth generation company co-owner. You may not be aware but Miele Inc. is the world’s largest family owned appliance company with over 16,000 employees and over $3 billion. There is no ‘Mr. Hoover’ any longer but there is a Dr. Miele and he is reminded each day that his name is on everything they produce. With that in mind, quality will not be compromised. That should give you much satisfaction in owning (or purchasing) the product.
As a
Miele vacuum cleaner dealer for almost 26 years, we have seen the many improvements made to the product. As I tell customers regularly, Miele doesn’t try to ‘reinvent the wheel’ when they introduce new model series, they simply hold to their 114 year old motto, ‘Immer Besser’ or ‘Forever Better’ in English. This makes for much higher performing, less troublesome product unlike many of their other Chinese or Mexican made competitors.
And here is the actual S7 that I assembled under the close eye of a supervisor. It is being raffled off with the drawing on January 31st. 100% of the proceeds will be going to a charity or charities chosen by the winner from a list. Stop into our store and see this signed Miele S7 and purchase a ticket.
