Duravit AG, founded in 1817 and headquartered in

Hornberg Hornberg is a town in the Ortenaukreis, in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest, 35 km southeast of Offenburg, and 25 km northwest of Villingen-Schwenningen. Sons and daughters of the town * ( ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, is primarily a manufacturer of porcelain bathroom fittings. Duravit is notable for having employed prominent designers such as

Philippe Starck Philippe Starck (; born 18 January 1949) is a French industrial architect and designer known for his wide range of designs, including interior design, architecture, household objects, furniture, boats and other vehicles. Life Starck was born on ...

, sieger design, EOOS, Phoenix Design, Frank Huster,

Christian Werner Christian Werner (May 19, 1892 in Stuttgart – June 17, 1932 in Stuttgart-Cannstatt) was a German racecar driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobi ...

, Matteo Thun & Antonio Rodriguez, Cecilie Manz, Kurt Merki Jr., Bertrand Lejoly and Sebastian Herkner for its product lines. In recent years, the company has diversified its scope to include other products.

History

Founded as a small earthenware factory by Georg Friedrich Horn in 1817 in the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

, Duravit did not begin to produce sanitary fixtures until the early 20th century such as sinks, bidets, and toilets. In the 1980s, the product line was expanded to offer bathroom accessories. The 1980s and 1990s were also characterized by various corporate acquisitions, including "Ceramique de Bischwiller in 1991, "MISR TECH" in 1999, and a partial stake in Laufen. This period also saw the further growth of product lines, including the introduction of bathroom furniture. In 1994, Duravit opened a new, modern plant for the production of sanitary

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

. Duravit's expansion continued in the first decade of the 21st Century with the establishment of subsidiaries in Turkey, India and China. The Duravit Design Center in Hornberg, designed by Philippe Starck, was also completed during this time. The brand is currently available in over 130 countries.

Factory sites

There are production facilities at several locations in Germany and abroad: Hornberg, Schenkenzell and Meißen in Germany, and in Bischwiller (France), Cairo (Egypt), Chongqing (China), Bizerte (Tunisia) and Tarapur (India) out of the country.Information from Duravit website, retrieved October 2014
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References

{{reflist Companies based in Baden-Württemberg German brands Bathrooms