GEBERIT is a leading Swiss group specialising in sanitary installations. It was founded in 1874, when Caspar Melchior Albert Gebert opened a tinsmith's business in Rapperswil (German-speaking Switzerland). His son Albert Emil founded their own factory with his father and brother Leo, and in 1905 they created the first wooden cistern lined with lead and fitted with lead taps. At the same time, many households were being fitted with modern bathrooms and toilets as a result of the hygiene movement.
Their business grew rapidly, enabling Léo to develop new products, such as the bell flush mechanism. In the 1930s, despite the economic crisis, they innovated by abandoning metal for plastic, which was easier to clean. In 1975, with the fourth generation at the helm of the company, the first washing toilet was launched, and it proved a success in Japan.
The company ceased to be family-owned in 1997, but this enabled GEBERIT to exceed one billion Swiss francs in turnover. The company diversified into bathroom fixtures and mechanisms, and remains a benchmark in the field, supplying the Louvre Museum in Lens and the stadiums for the London Olympic Games.