Armitage Shanks is a British manufacturer of

bathroom A bathroom or washroom is a room, typically in a home or other residential building, that contains either a bathtub or a shower (or both). The inclusion of a wash basin is common. In some parts of the world e.g. India, a toilet is typically i ...

fixtures and

plumbing Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. Heating and cooling (HVAC), waste removal, and potable water deliver ...

supplies, now part of the group

Ideal Standard Ideal Standard is a privately held multinational plumbing fixture company headquartered in Belgium. It operates primarily in Europe and Latin America. The brand dates back to 1949, when it was used to brand fixtures of the foreign operations of t ...

. In 2004, Armitage Shanks had eight factories in the United Kingdom, the largest in

Armitage Armitage is a village in Staffordshire, England on the south side of the Trent and Mersey Canal south just outside of the market town of Rugeley and north of the city of Lichfield, and noteworthy for the Armitage Shanks sanitary porcelain fact ...

, Staffordshire. Armitage Shanks is one of the sponsors of the

Loo of the Year Award The Loo of the Year Awards are run to celebrate the best public toilets in the United Kingdom, and promote high standards. The awards competition receives sponsorship from a number of companies involved in providing products and services to was ...

History

The company that became Armitage Shanks was founded in 1817, by Thomas Bond in

, Staffordshire. The Armitage "sanitary pottery manufacture" became a successful

toilet A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and Human feces, feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry toilet, dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for ...

manufacturer in the United Kingdom. In 1907, ''Armitage Ware Limited'' was incorporated. In 1969, Armitage merged with ''Shanks Holdings Limited'', a competing "sanitary engineering company" that was established in 1878 in

Barrhead Barrhead ( sco, Baurheid, gd, Ceann a' Bharra) is a town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, southwest of Glasgow city centre on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes. At the 2011 census its population was 17,268. History Barrhead was formed whe ...

near

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

, producing the famous

brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...

Armitage Shanks. In 1980, Armitage Shanks was purchased by

Blue Circle Industries Blue Circle Industries was a British public company manufacturing cement. It was founded in 1900 as the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd through the fusion of 24 cement works, mostly around on the Thames and Medway estuaries, toget ...

, and in February 1999, Blue Circle sold its bathroom division (consisting of Armitage Shanks and the Italian Ceramica Dolomite) to

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

based American Standard Companies for US$430 million. Following this purchase, the Armitage Shanks brand continued in the United Kingdom, and their former export markets. American Standard were acquired by

Bain Capital Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry sec ...

in February 2007, and is now majority owned by

Sun Capital Partners Sun Capital Partners, Inc., is an American private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts. Sun Capital was founded in 1995 by Marc J. Leder and Rodger Krouse, former classmates at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and ...

References

External links

Armitage Shanks corporate site
{{Authority control Ceramics manufacturers of England British brands Companies based in Stoke-on-Trent Manufacturing companies established in 1817 1817 establishments in England Bathroom fixture companies British companies established in 1817