In response, other full-line appliance producers began to compete with Maytag in the white-goods consumer market.

These included 'full-line' manufacturers such as Whirlpool, General Electric, Westinghouse, and Frigidaire, who built not only washing machines and dryers, but also refrigerators, stoves, and other appliances.

The company capitalized on its reputation by renaming its corporate address in Newton, Iowa, "One Dependability Square".

By the late 1970s, over 70 percent of U.S. households were equipped with washers and dryers, and with approximately 18,000 employees worldwide, the company was established as a dominant manufacturer of large laundry appliances.

In 1991 Maytag built a new plant in Jackson, Tennessee, for the manufacture of newly designed plastic tub dishwashers.

The Plastic tub was developed in Newton, Iowa, but in 1996 Engineering was transferred to Jackson because Mr. Len Hadley, then president of Maytag Corporation, wanted the plant to be self-sufficient.

The Jackson plant evolved into a streamlined manufacturing facility that could build thousands of dishwashers daily on multiple lines.

That same year, Ralph F. Hake became the last chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Maytag Corporation, serving in that post until March 2006.

The rebranded Maytag models, later termed Amanatags by dissatisfied owners, received poor customer reviews after reports surfaced of major mechanical and/or durability problems.

[14][15][16][17] The company was also slow to react to customer complaints regarding its flagship Neptune washer and dryer line (labeled the Stinkomatic by dissatisfied customers because they would become moldy in a way that could not be easily cleaned), resulting in further damage to the company's reputation and a $33.5 million payout to settle several class-action lawsuits arising from the Neptune problems.

With backing from two large U.S. private equity funds, Haier made a bid to acquire U.S. appliance maker Maytag for $1.28 billion.

There is a lawsuit pending in the Southern District Court of Iowa where Whirlpool has asked for permission to change the UAW bargained benefits.

Maytag had presence in markets around the world, including sales operations in Mexico, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia.

Maytag International was responsible for export sales and licensing of the corporation's appliances and floor care brands and joint ventures in overseas markets.

These included: Over the following years, Whirlpool closed Maytag plants in Newton, Iowa; Herrin, Illinois; Searcy, Arkansas; and Jackson, Tennessee.

[21][26] In a time in which the laundry appliances of major manufacturers had reached maturity, differing mostly in minor details, the campaign was designed to remind consumers of the perceived added value in Maytag products derived from the brand's reputation for dependability.

The campaign proved a huge success, allowing Maytag to set a substantial price premium, as well as strongly influencing consumer preference at the higher end of the laundry appliance market.

[30] On April 2, 2007, Maytag announced that Clay Earl Jackson of Richmond, Virginia had been selected to fill the role of Ol' Lonely.

[31] By the end of the twentieth century, the "Maytag repairman" character had become an iconic metaphor for a professional whose services are rarely needed.

Times were changing however, and events at Maytag and within the industry began to diminish the effectiveness of the long-lived Maytag-repairman campaign.

Consumer demand for innovative, expensive, and increasingly complex electronically controlled and computerized appliances, coupled with higher labor costs and complaints over Maytag product quality and service, influenced a decline in Maytag sales and profit margins.

[32][33] As one commentator noted, "Unfortunately things change, and, after some major quality hiccups, now it's the Maytag salesman who is bemoaning his loneliness.

Maytag's reputation has plunged to the bottom with costly consumer class action lawsuits and numerous quality complaints.

"[34] As a partial result of Maytag's quality problems, the company reported a loss of $9 million in 2004, according to Industry Week.