The Oreck Corporation was founded by Tom's father, David Oreck in 1963 as one of the leading manufacturers of upright vacuum cleaners for the US hotel industry. Today the company produces and sells vacuums, steam mops, floor machines, air purifiers and cleaning products for use in both hotels and homes throughout the U.S., Canada and parts of Europe. Tom Oreck was born in New York City July 1951, and is a graduate of Lawrence University and the owner/president management program in the Harvard Business School. He has been working in the appliance and consumer products industry for over 30 years and has recently been working with his family to repurchase the Oreck company after the family sold the businesses in 2003 to the private-equity affiliate, Black Diamond Commercial Finance LLC. In 2013, the Oreck family lost the chance to buy back the namesake vacuum-cleaner maker at a bankruptcy auction after a rival company behind the Hoover brand (Hong Kong-based Techtronic Industries) offered a higher bid for the 600-person Tennessee company.
