Nineteenth Century
Thomas Twyford commenced his sanitaryware production in 1849 when he established his factory in Bath Street, Hanley, manufacturing elementary toilet bowls, for use in Valve Closet, and washbasins.
 |
| Twyfords - Father Thomas and Son Thomas William |
In that same year Thomas had a son, Thomas William, and it was Thomas William who, in his twenties, took over the running of the factory and rapidly expanded the company.
In 1887 Thomas William built his new "model" factory in Cliffe Vale, Stoke-on-Trent, and by then his one-piece, all-ceramic, freestanding, washout pedestal closet, designed in 1883, was in full production.
 |
| Twyfords UNITAS 1883 |
Twyford named this THE UNITAS and he developed a huge export market with it. The Unitas became so well known in Russia that the name Unitas (or Unitaz) was adopted in their language to mean "toilet".
Thomas William Twyford was an innovator, business man, marketeer and philanthropist and used all of his skills to develop the Twyford company. Many of today’s basic sanitaryware designs can be attributed to his genius.
By 1901 Twyford boasted 30 trade marks and 20 different toilet models.
In 1903 he opened his first factory abroad, in Ratingen near Dusseldorf, Germany. The factory still exists today and is now part of the Sanitec Group as Keramag.
Twentieth Century
During the twentieth century Twyford established factories in South Africa, Australia and India. And these are still producing today but under new owners.
 |
| Twyfords Alsager Factory built 1956 |
Twenty First Century
In August 2011 the Alsager factory was closed. The portfolio of products is now outsourced and the factory site was given planning permission in 2014 for a Sainsbury's supermarket and housing. Later Sainsbury decided to back out of the development but housing went ahead. The offices were converted into a Care home for the elderley, opening July 2020.