NASHVILLE (AP) - Nashville-based vacuum maker Oreck Corporation has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The Tennessean reports (http://tnne.ws/ZNdJLC) the company expects to continue daily operations without interruption and is looking for a buyer.

Oreck laid off an undisclosed number of employees last October and again in January, saying the move was part of a shift away from direct sales.

Oreck has about 70 employees in the corporate office in Nashville, another 250 work at its Cookeville manufacturing plant and about 325 work at its retail stores.

Oreck sells its upright vacuums and other cleaning products in hundreds of Oreck Clean Home Centers, as well as through direct phone and online sales. It distributes in the U.S., Canada and parts of Europe.