Armitage Shanks
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| Type | Private (subsidiary of Bain Capital) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Bathroom fixtures & plumbing supplies |
| Predecessor(s) | Armitage Ware Limited |
| Successor(s) | American Standard Companies |
| Founded | 1817 |
| Founder(s) | Thomas Bond |
| Headquarters | Stoke-on-Trent, England |
| Number of locations | 8 factories |
| Area served | United Kingdom |
| Website | http://www.armitage-shanks.co.uk/ |
Armitage Shanks is a British manufacturer of bathroom fixtures and plumbing supplies.
In 2004 Armitage Shanks had eight factories in the UK, the largest in Armitage, Staffordshire. Armitage Shanks is one of the sponsors of the Loo of the Year Awards.
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[edit] History
The company that became Armitage Shanks was founded in 1817 by Thomas Bond in Armitage, Staffordshire. The Armitage "sanitary pottery manufacture" became a successful UK toilet manufacturer. In 1907 Armitage Ware Limited was incorporated.
In 1969 Armitage merged with Shanks Holdings Limited, a competing "sanitary engineering company" established at Barrhead near Glasgow, Renfrewshire in 1878, producing the famous brand name Armitage Shanks.[1]
In 1980 Armitage Shanks was purchased by Blue Circle Industries, and in February 1999 Blue Circle sold its bathroom division (consisting of Armitage Shanks and the Italian Ceramica Dolomite) to U.S. based American Standard Companies for US$430 million. Following this purchase, the Armitage Shanks brand disappeared outside the UK, as their former export markets, such as those in east Asia, moved over to the American Standard brand. American Standard were acquired by Bain Capital in 2007.
[edit] Other uses of the name
The company has inspired other people and groups to use the name, sometimes as an example of toilet humour.
- Armitage Shanks is the pseudonym of the ringmaster of the Seattle, Washington based Circus Contraption
- "Armatage Shanks" [sic] is the first song on Green Day's 1995 album, Insomniac, which came about after the band had been to England and noticed the brand name on the urinals there.
- "Armitage Shanks" is the 24th song on Future Clouds and Radar's self-titled 2007 album.
- "Armitage Shanks" is a b-side on the 1993 single "U Talk 2 Much" by Cork City band The Sultans of Ping FC. Lyrics include: 'No one says Merry Christmas to those masters of industry, Armitage Shanks' and 'Often people use you, never even flush you'.
- "Armitage Shanks" is a humorous song by Chuck Brodsky, recorded on his live album "Two Sets."
- Armitage Shanks was an English garage punk band in the 1990s and 2000s.[2]
- "Armitage Shanks" is a fictional character in the Focus on the Family radio drama, "Adventures in Odyssey".
- "Armitage Shanks" is a fictional character in the novel Taz by Dawood Ali McCallum.
- The Armitage Shanks Championship Bowl is a fictional Mornington Crescent prize in I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
- Also one of the many nicknames of the late Richard Marsland from the program Get This.
- Armitage Shanks is also an up and coming Wrestler in the popular Facebook game Wrestler:Unstoppable
- "Hermitage Shanks," a pun on the name, is the title of a song on Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer's 2010 album "I Say!"
- "Armitage" is mentioned in the film Johnny English Reborn as being a fictional secret society within MI7.
[edit] References
- ^ "SHANKS OF BARRHEAD". http://www.barrhead-scotland.com/Culture/history/shanks.asp. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
- ^ "Armitage Shanks". Allmusic. Macrovision. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p210932. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
