The American Dream
 
Changing Times
With a dream. With an idea. With the desire to succeed in a changing world, Peter Vosbikian, Sr. fled his homeland during a time of political unrest and impending horror. In search of a better life, Peter Sr. stowed away on a French cargo ship in 1913 to escape what was to be the Armenian Genocide of 1915. He was destined for America. Finding a new life in the 'melting pot' of dreams, America was difficult and challenging. Without a family presence until 1916 when Peter Sr. brought his brother Thomas and wife-to-be Rose to America, their reunion meant an opportunity to save money, learn a new language and develop the knowledge of American business ways – ways that were quite different from his homeland. The road was being paved in a brave new world for the Vosbikian family.
 
A Business Plan

Peter Sr. knew that his new world in America required him to establish business roots to be happy and successful. Partnered with Thomas, they founded the

Vosbikian Brothers Company in Philadelphia in 1919. The two brothers struggled but slowly a successful business emerged. Over a mere 30 years, many of the ideas, the inventions, the innovations and the technologies were unique and proprietary enough to warrant U.S. Patents: over 100 of them! One in particular, the compound-action hedge shear changed the way Americans gardened. Many ideas were even sold to other companies to manufacture and market. The successes continued into the Second World War where their
manufacturing expertise was directed toward the production of anchor chain for the U.S. Navy. And there was more to come.
 
Cleaning Up
To continue with the evolution of ingenious thought and adaptability of the Vosbikian Brothers Company, Peter Sr. found a way to make mopping a quicker, easier and cleaner proposition for the homeowner. In 1950, Peter Sr. invented the Automatic® Sponge Mop. There was nothing like it on the market: no hand wringing and no awkward bending was required. It was Automatic. And it was an Automatic success. It was such a success, a brand new company called: 
Quickie Manufacturing Corporation was born.
 
Innovation Evolution
For the next 20 years, Quickie Manufacturing built a reputation for developing and manufacturing quality, innovative products for department stores. This complete line
of cleaning products however, required focus and under the leadership of Peter’s son, Peter Vosbikian, Jr., the new president of the company in 1970, Quickie concentrated on the Automatic Sponge Mop to evolve and grow. This strategy was a smart one. In 1971, Quickie revolutionized the market with a comprehensive marketing plan utilizing television and other media to promote the category. Drawing consumers to the product, retailers across the U.S. saw
the potential from carrying the Quickie Line, resulting in rapid expansion throughout the early 1970s into mass merchants and supermarkets. Distribution of the Quickie Mop, as it was affectionately called, certainly didn’t stop there.
 
Quickie Growth... Quickly
New product development was key in the mid to late 70's. In 1974, Quickie introduced the Swivel-Flex® Dust Mop. This mop solved the problem of getting dust and dirt in hard-to-reach places - including corners and around furniture - due to the
unique swivel movement of the mop head in addition to a flexible material that bends and molds around objects to be cleaned. Just a year later, the Super Scrubber® wet mop reached the market, spring-boarding a mop design and scrubber concept that is still around today; the scrubber feature has become commonplace on Quickie mops - and even now found on competitive products - making the chore of mopping so much easier. With the growth of products and the growth of retail distribution, it was
obvious that the Philadelphia manufacturing site was holding Quickie back. In 1977, the Cinnaminson, New Jersey site was opened along with an additional site purchased in nearby Delran, New Jersey.
 
Not to be restricted to mops alone, Quickie branched out into the pushbroom category. The Bulldozer® line of pushbrooms, complete with a consumer-friendly feature to prevent the broomhead loosening from the handle during use, reached market in 1981, not only with a superior product design but with an innovative form of merchandising; this merchandising system saved retailer space allowing a greater concentration of Quickie cleaning products per square foot. This form of pushbroom packaging is called the "toothbrush" concept and continues to be widely used, and appreciated by retailers today. Augmenting the mop and broom line became extremely important in the mid 1980s with consumers gravitating to small, everyday tools to clean, wipe and brush more than just the floor. Quickie introduced accessories and brushes, called "smallwares" within the industry, for this burgeoning market in 1984.
 
Manufacturing For The Masses
Quickie Manufacturing grew into the largest cleaning tools manufacturer, as its name suggests, very quickly. In 1989, the El Paso, Texas facility was opened to service the western United States. Interaction between each production facility was critical in increasing economies of scale and remaining competitively #1 for U.S. retailers. Each facility became more responsible for producing components: injection molding, metal stamping and powder coating, and then assembling these components into complete products. Another new production facility, this one in Mexico, was opened in 1996 to contribute to the strategy of vertically integrating the facilities and ultimately, the products.
 
During this time the growth of "big box" home center retailers across the nation was a natural business opportunity for Quickie. Quickie developed and launched a new commercial grade product line and a modular method of merchandising for this emerging new retail channel. Many of the high-quality, value-added features of this new line were then incorporated into the Quickie HomePro® line of household products.
 
In 1998, a new facility was opened in Lumberton, North Carolina offering an expansive 37 acres of space to plan, produce and distribute the majority of Quickie products sold throughout the country.
 
An Evolving Dream
Today, consumers still demand cleaning tools that offer value-added features and innovative design. Quickie answers this demand with new product innovations and design elements that make the consumers' cleaning job much quicker and easier. From ergonomic handles to quick-action mop wringing systems to powered cleaners to fashion-forward colors and eye-catching packaging and merchandising concepts, Quickie continues to be at the forefront of product design and marketing. With products like Ring-A-Mop®, EZ-WringerTM and QuickSweep™ Cordless Battery Powered Cleaner, Quickie continues to evolve and grow into exciting new products and markets.
 
Without the foresight, drive and business acumen of Peter Vosbikian, Sr., and then Peter Jr., Quickie Manufacturing would not be the number one, quality cleaning tools manufacturer and marketer that it continues to be today. Quickie prides itself on the dedication and hard work of many teams of professionals – the Quickie family - servicing, leading, responding and moving the company forward. The American dream may have originated with Peter Sr., but the dream and spirit of the past carries on within the walls of Quickie Manufacturing today.
 
 
 
 

 
  BBBOnLine Reliability Seal © Copyright 2008 Quickie Manufacturing Corporation, All Rights Reserved
Terms & Conditions Privacy Site Map