Oreck’s Traveling Circus Moving Again

From The Sun Herald

Oreck on the Move Again!

NEW ORLEANS — Citing high fuel prices and a need to centralize operations, Oreck Corp. has moved its corporate headquarters to Nashville, Tenn.

Tom Oreck, CEO of the vacuum manufacturing company, said the move will see 60 people working in Nashville and the staff in Harahan reduced from 70 to 10.

“Frankly, we considered relocating to China altogether, although we discarded that option,” Oreck said. “Although we’ve always been connected to New Orleans, with all of the increased costs related to transportation, we wanted to have our manufacturing, our call center and our headquarters in close proximity.”

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Oreck moved its manufacturing plant from Long Beach, Miss., to Cookeville, Tenn., 80 miles east of Nashville.

Jefferson Parish officials, who had worked to retain the Oreck headquarters in Louisiana for more than a decade, were disappointed by the move.

“We made a big push to keep their back office here, but they decided to consolidate their operations in Tennessee,” Jefferson Parish Councilman John Young said. “Call it another casualty of Katrina.”

Doesn’t seem like that big of a deal right? Not unless you remember when these guys came out and said that there was no way they were leaving Louisiana after Katrina, then they moved to Cookeville Tenn. Again not a big deal, but Tom Oreck, Oreck’s president and CEO and son of founder David Oreck, screamed up and down that they would stay. Now they are moving again from Cookeville to Nashville.

Mr. Oreck claims the high cost of labor and the shortage of employees. Maybe spending $4.6 billion for a 7,800 square foot house back in June of 2007 also has something to do with it?

The point is, don’t cry poor. It’s your business with your name on the door so you can do whatever you want. But people are remembered the things you say and the things you do and when my cheap, made in China vacuum cleaner dies you can bet I will be buying another one. Why? Sometimes the hypocrite you know is better than the one you don’t know.