industry plumbing parts manufacturing and supplying founded 1874 1 founder caspar melchior gebert headquarters rapperswil jona 1 switzerland area served worldwide key people christian buhl ceo albert m. baehny chairman revenue chf 2.59 billion 2015 2 operating income chf 590.9 million 2015 2 profit chf 493.1 million 2015 2 total assets chf 3.55 billion end 2015 2 total equity chf 1.48 billion end 2015 2 number of employees 12 126 end 2015 2 website www.geberit.com geberit german pronunciation be r t or be t is a swiss multinational group specialized in manufacturing and supplying sanitary parts and related systems . it is a leader in its field in europe 3 with a global presence through its subsidiaries . 1 4 5 contents 1 history 1.1 the beginnings 1.2 expansion 2 strategy 2.1 product areas 2.1.1 sanitary systems 2.1.2 piping systems 2.1.3 bathroom ceramics 3 notes and references history edit geberit headquarters . the beginnings edit in 1874 caspar melchior gebert started a plumbing business in rapperswil switzerland . 5 in 1905 he began to manufacture parts . his toilet tank the phoenix a first made of lead coated wood and with lead fittings particularly a flushing mechanism was revolutionary and a great success . when gebert died in 1909 his sons albert and leo took over the business . in the following years the company expanded within switzerland as well as to neighboring countries and added new products pipes taps and valves . in the 1930s the company was a pioneer of plastic parts in the sanitary industry . 6 7 the second world war affected the company but it soon recovered and in 1952 introduced the first all plastic toilet tank made of polyethylene . 8 expansion edit in 1953 heinrich and klaus gebert inherited control of the company and named it geberit . the company opened a distribution subsidiary and new branches in europe which besides parts also offered technical services . as germany was considered a growth market the first international subsidiary was opened there in 1955 in pfullendorf which was also going to be the site of the first factory outside switzerland . since then a number of subsidiaries were created in european countries including france 1959 and austria 1965 . the company moved from rapperswil to a larger facility in rapperswil jona and introduced a concealed tank system . in the 1970s geberit introduced more new products such as full drainage systems flush mounted systems and new components for the hygiene sector . a third plant was opened in 1972 in pottenbrunn sankt p lten austria . the company also created subsidiaries in denmark belgium and the netherlands . the company made an attempt to enter the american market creating a subsidiary in michigan indiana . however the u.s. presence remained insignificant for years . in 1977 the company entered the installation systems market which went on to become the most important market of the company . in 1980 the german facilities were expanded and a warehouse complex was opened at its rapperswil jona headquarters . it also acquired a big german player in the installation elements market sanbloc . in 1986 it began automating its production . in 1989 it acquired a stake in fae fluid air energy joining the fresh water supply systems sector . in 1990 the facilities of pottenbrunn were expanded . in 1994 a new plant was established in lichtenstein in eastern germany to take advantage of the new markets after the end of the cold war . in 1991 the gebert family withdrew from managing the company and the first outsider was appointed ceo of the company gunter f. kelm . 6 the company continued its expansion with new facilities in rapperswil jona a factory for its mepla brand in givisiez and new international subsidiaries in italy and portugal . in 1995 the geberts sold geberit to the british private equity firm doughty hanson . 6 9 with the new cash the company started a series of acquisitions which included italy s deriplast and walking pipe italiana germany s buchler werkzeugbau ag and the united kingdom s caradon terrain ltd. in 1998 the company opened its first production plant in china . 8 in june 1999 geberit was listed on the swx swiss exchange . 5 in july 1999 it raised its stake in fae fluid air energy to 70 percent with an agreement to take full control of fae by 2001 . in 2001 the company suffered from the weakness of the german market but soon recovered . in 2002 it acquired a majority stake in the austrian company huter vorfertigung gmbh . 8 in july of that year with the aim of strengthen its position in the american market it purchased chicago faucet at a cost of 33.3 million dollars . 10 in 2004 it purchased the leading german metal pipe manufacturer mapress holding from lindsay goldberg & bessemer at a cost of 372.5 million euros . 11 the geberit share was included in the swiss market index smi in 2012 . in 2015 geberit acquired the finland based bath and toilet firm sanitec for 1.4 billion . 12 strategy edit the company manufactures and sells its products mainly under the geberit brand although some subsidiaries brands are also used . it has operations in more than 41 countries . 1 4 geberit s strategy rests on four pillars focus on sanitary technology commitment to innovation selective geographic expansion and continuous business process optimization . for a number of years now geberit has been pursuing the three stage sales model and the push pull strategy . more specifically geberit products are distributed wholesale with the company training over 100 000 plumbers and decision makers a year at its 25 training centers around the world or at external training courses . to date geberit has received a range of awards for the company s innovative strength product design and its strong focus on sustainability . 13 product areas edit sanitary systems edit the sanitary systems area includes installation systems cisterns faucets and flushing systems waste fittings and traps . 1 4 piping systems edit this includes piping inside and outside of buildings . product lines are building drainage systems and supply systems . 1 4 bathroom ceramics edit this encompasses toiled bowls washbasins and other complementary products like furniture showers and bathtubs . notes and references edit a b c d e f company description geberit . businessweek.com . businessweek . retrieved 29 september 2012 . a b c d e f 2015 annual report . geberit . retrieved 29 march 2016 . staub bisang mirjam 2012 . sustainable investments strategies . sustainable investing for institutional investors risk regulations and strategies . john wiley & sons . p. 25 . isbn 978 1 118 20317 0 . a b c d profile geberit . reuters.com . reuters . retrieved 29 september 2012 . a b c geberit ag . listofcompanies.co.in . retrieved 29 september 2012 . a b c zimmerli christophe 2011 . le financement d un lbo financing an lbo . le leveraged buyout lbo the leveraged buyout lbo . seca in french . 17 . haupt verlag ag . pp. 180 185 . isbn 978 3 258 07677 5 . every future needs a past . geberit . retrieved 15 march 2016 . a b c international directory of company histories . 49 . st. james press . november 2002 . pp. 161 163 . isbn 1558624759 . historical . geberit . doughty hanson . retrieved 1 october 2012 . riley key 10 july 2002 . chicago faucet sells for 33m . chicagobusiness.com . crain s chicago business . retrieved 29 september 2012 . geberit agrees to buy germany s mapress for eu372 .5 million . bloomberg.com . bloomberg . 12 december 2004 . retrieved 29 september 2012 . geberit says has acquired 99.27 pct of sanitec shares . reuters 3 february 2015 awards . geberit . retrieved 20 may 2014 . v t e swiss market index companies of switzerland abb actelion adecco credit suisse geberit givaudan holcim julius b r nestl novartis richemont roche sgs swatch group swiss re swiss life swisscom syngenta ubs zurich financial companies portal switzerland portal retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title geberit & 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