Company > Our stories > History

The company's history

Learn more about the beginnings of the company and go on a journey through the most important events in the history of Villeroy & Boch AG.

  • 1700

    A world company emerges

  • 1748

    The birth of the company

    Francois Boch bears the title "Bombardier du Roi", royal cannon founder. The iron founder from village of Audun-le-Tiche in Lorraine, however, decides to start a new career. In 1748, together with his three sons, he begins manufacturing ceramic crockery. This marks the birth of the Villeroy & Boch company.
    continue reading
  • 1766

    Luxembourg

    Luxembourg is one of the Bochs' initial sales markets. Due to this fact Francois' son, Pierre-Joseph, submits a request to the Austrian government for permission to set up a manufactory in the Province of Luxembourg. Of the numerous persons who apply, he receives authorisation from Empress Maria Theresia. The new factory at Septfontaines/Luxembourg is also a major step from manufactory operations to early industrial serial production. As a sign of special recognition, the Faiencerie is permitted to call itself Manufacture Impériale et Royale.
    continue reading
  • 1770

    Alt Luxemburg

    Popular around the world, the Alt Luxemburg crockery series is a Villeroy & Boch evergreen. It dates back to the Brindille pattern which was introduced by Pierre-Joseph in 1770. The creatively gifted entrepreneur fashioned a series of artistic ceramic items including a rocaille hanging flowerpot and a crucifix base with snake symbol – both exhibits can to be found in the Mettlach Ceramics Museum.
    continue reading
  • 1791

    Ceramics manufacturers Villeroy

    Together with two partners, the businessman Nicolas Villeroy acquires an earthenware factory in Vaudrevange, which is today called Wallerfangen. In 1797 he becomes its sole owner. Villeroy is one of the first ceramics manufacturers to use coal as fuel. He calls in specialists from England and France to modernise production. Above all, he experiments with pattern printing. From 1815 he applies the copper printing process which enables products to be offered more cheaply.
    continue reading
  • 1800

    From Mettlach to the whole world

  • 1809

    Acquisition of the Old Abbey in Mettlach

    Jean-François Boch buys the former Benedictine abbey in Mettlach on the River Saar. In the baroque building he sets up a highly-modern, extensively mechanised system of tableware production. He designs many of the production machines himself. His inventions smooth the way for manual ceramic manufacture to be replaced by industrial production. Today, the baroque building is the corporate headquarters of Villeroy & Boch.
    continue reading
  • 1812

    Social commitment

    As an entrepreneur Pierre-Joseph is one of the social pioneers of the early 19th century. He founds the social institution Antonius Guild in Septfontaines. Its fundamental elements are insurance to cover illness, accidents, and disability, and also a pension fund. It is a comprehensive social insurance to which both employees and the company pay contributions. Antonius Guild benefits are considerably more extensive than those which later became law. They serve as a model for Bismarck 70 years later when he develops the first German social insurance scheme. In 1857, Nicolas Villeroy's daughter Leonie and her husband Adolphe de Galhau set up the Sophie Trust to support families in need.
    continue reading
  • 1829

    Production of earthenware

    While the second Boch generation achieved an optimised product quality by experimenting with materials, the third generation made a decisive leap with Jean-Francois Boch. Trained at the École de Sciences in Paris, the entrepreneur successfully develops a type of earthenware which is bright white and extremely hard. It looks deceptively like porcelain, but could be supplied considerably cheaper. This path democratised tableware. As a result of this early innovation, porcelain – the previously rare and costly, precious treasure reserved solely for the nobility – if now affordable for broad classes of society. The products are not only well-accepted on the market, but also officially. At the first Prussian trade exhibition in Berlin in 1822, the Bochs receive the gold medal, which is followed by many national and international awards.
    continue reading
  • 1836

    Merger between Boch and Villeroy

    The factories of the entrepreneurs Boch and Villeroy are not far away from each other. Now and again the two competitors, who successfully market their products beyond Germany's borders, even meet. But in order to exist in Europe's economic framework, particularly alongside the dominant English industry, the two agree to merge. Villeroy & Boch is born. It combines the strengths of both sides: creative talent, entrepreneurial spirit, innovative power and production capacity, and is one of the 19th century's first global players.
    continue reading
  • 1843

    Complete offer as corporate strategy

    The full-range concept – today an integral element of the corporate strategy – can be traced well back into the 19th century. In 1843 Villeroy and Boch set up the Cristallerie in Wadgassen. An attractive product range extension: by producing glasses the company was able to round off its crockery range, thus improving its market opportunities both in Germany and abroad. Every German town received regular supplies. From 1847 larger consignments were sent to Paris, Warsaw and London. A new connection to the Mannheim railway junction facilitated export to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Distribution was also extended to Scandinavia, Italy, Spain, Greece, Switzerland and Turkey. From around 1850 the first consignments were sent across the Atlantic to North and South America.
    continue reading
  • 1851

    World Exhibition

    The Prussian Minister for Economic Affairs chooses Villeroy & Boch to take part in the famous World Exhibition in London. On a magnificently presented stand the company displays innovative everyday crockery and decorative ceramic items made of bone china and elaborately decorated stoneware. London was the start of a series of prestigious appearances at the great World Exhibitions of the 19th and early 20th century, including Philadelphia in 1876, Paris in 1878 and 1900, Chicago in 1893, St. Petersburg in 1901 and St. Louis in 1904.
    continue reading
  • 1852

    Mettlacher Platten

    Many a good idea for the present can be won from the wealth held by history. When archaeologists came across a Roman floor mosaic in the vicinity of Mettlach, Eugen von Boch was entrusted with its restoration. Inspired by this archaeological find, he and his technicians begin experimenting with material for tile manufacture. They develop a production process which combines tremendous wear resistance with a sensationally beautiful appearance. Manufactured in Mettlach since 1852, these tiles achieve great success throughout the world under the name of Mettlacher Platten. Demand is so great that a factory specialising in tile manufacture is built in 1869 – the Mosaic Factory. In 1879 Villeroy & Boch takes over a further factory in Merzig. They develop into the world's largest manufacturer of plants for wall and floor tiles anywhere in the world.
    continue reading
  • 1856

    Export markets are opened

    Eugen von Boch (4th Boch generation) recognised exactly where the markets of the future were located. He sets up the earthenware factory in Dresden so as to be able to open up new export markets in the north and east of Europe more easily and supply them better from here. Production is originally geared to crockery, but is extended only a short time later to include tiled stoves. The greatest contribution to the Dresden factory's reputation is made by the special department for shop interiors, after production of tiles had also been assumed here. The most famous example is the Dresdner Milchladen (Dresden Dairy), which is today one of the city's greatest tourist attractions. With its hand-worked and hand-painted tiles, the café at the Mettlach Ceramics Museum is an almost authentic version of this historic dairy. (see 2007)
    continue reading
  • 1876

    The first ceramic sanitary-ware production

    The first signs of ceramic sanitary-ware production are seen. The Wallerfangen Faiencerie begins manufacturing "water pipe articles", Villeroy & Boch's first items of ceramic sanitary ware. Washing vessels, including numerous specially-produced items, for example, for Louis II, the Bavarian "fairytale" King.
    continue reading
  • 1879

    Artistic terracotta items

    Villeroy & Boch takes over and modernises an earthenware factory in Merzig, where it launches another new range of products – artistic terracotta items. Management of the terracotta atelier is assumed by Professor Alexander Schmidt from Thuringia. At the same time the technicians successfully improve the material so that its robust and weatherproof qualities are superior to those of other building materials, even natural stone. This building adornment known as terracotta, is marketed throughout the world and used, above all, for prestigious properties such as stately homes, cathedrals, banks and castles, one of which was Schloß Herrenchiemsee. Examples of this form of architectural ceramic still in existence today have lost none of their original beauty, while stoneware ornaments would now be weathered and covered in moss.
    continue reading
  • 1888

    Vincent van Gogh

    Vincent van Gogh paints a portrait of his friend Eugène Boch, which today hangs in the Musèe d'Orsay in Paris. Van Gogh always carried this painting, entitled Der Dichter (The Poet) with him on his travels. After his death, van Gogh's sister-in-law gives the painting as a gift to Eugène who bequeaths it to the Louvre in 1942. Anna and Eugène Boch are themselves neo-impressionists and have frequent contact with prominent artists of their day, such as Toulouse-Lautrec, Ensor and van Gogh. Van Gogh's letters are proof of the deep friendship he shared with Eugène.
    continue reading
  • 1890

    Project business begins

    Villeroy & Boch creates a floor mosaic for Cologne Cathedral, a building of high national symbolic value which was restored in the 19th century. This 1,300 squaremetre mosaic is produced and laid within a period of five years. Besides the industrial manufacture of crockery and tiles, Villeroy & Boch's ateliers create numerous items made specially to order. The company becomes a supplier – above all of crockery – to European ruling houses and to the upper classes. In the construction sector too, numerous prestigious premises all over the world are built or equipped with Villeroy & Boch products, e.g. the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow or the Castle of the Prince of Thurn and Taxis in Regensburg. In the commercial sector, swimming pools, hotels, banks and hospitals, etc. have been equipped with products from Villeroy & Boch from the 19th century through to this day. Its own capacity together with the artistic and technical know-how of its ateliers and planning offices enable the company to design and realise highly individual projects.
    continue reading
  • 1899

    Large-scale production of bathtubs and toilets

    In the 19th century, significant scientific insights create the foundations of modern hygiene. An essential contribution is made above all by sanitary products, which are still not widely used around 1900. At this time Villeroy & Boch starts large-scale production of bathtubs and toilets. A key reason for this undertaking is the improvements the company had successfully made in the production technique and the material. The key to large-scale series lay in the slip casting technique used to cast the liquefied ceramic in moulds. When Villeroy & Boch then also introduced traditional fireclay – a particularly hard ceramic which hardly warps during firing – into sanitary-ware production, large-scale manufacture could commence. Bathroom furnishings became affordable for the average home. This is an important contribution towards democratising bathing and hygiene.
    continue reading
  • 1900

    Between world wars, innovations and expansion

  • 1920

    The First World War and the consequences

    As a result of World War I, the Saar Region is detached from the German Reich. Since the factories in that area are no longer available to supply the German market, factories are purchased in Bonn, Torgau and Breslau. In the same year the Holland Tunnel is built under the Hudson River in the USA, between New York and New Jersey. Villeroy & Boch supplies 10,000 square metres of tiles for this construction (see photo).
    continue reading
  • 1930

    The Bauhaus and art déco styles dominate design

    Based on a rationally mundane, purpose-orientated styling, the Bauhaus style and the elegantly luxurious art déco style dominate the design of the Twenties and Thirties. This is also reflected in the Villeroy & Boch product range during these decades. Around the turn of the century, Henry van de Velde – founder of the "Kunstgewerbliche Seminar", the forerunner organisation to Bauhaus – had already created designs for Villeroy & Boch. In 1919, together with Walter Gropius, he set up the Bauhaus. Peter Behrens – co-founder of the Deutsche Werkbundes, (federation of architects, artists and builders) – also creates crockery and tile designs for the company.
    continue reading
  • 1939

    Second World War

    Villeroy & Boch's factories in all parts of Germany suffer considerable damage during World War II. When the war ends, the factories in Breslau, Dresden and Torgau are expropriated and the factories in Saarland integrated into the French economic region until the monetary reform in 1959.
    continue reading
  • 1959

    New types of porcelain emerge

    Production of vitreous porcelain begins at Septfontaines in Luxembourg. Owing to its hardness and resistance to scratches, this material is also used in the catering sector. In addition, Villeroy & Boch is later able to successfully develop the material to produce Fine Vilbo China, which combines refined porcelain white with the outstanding functional qualities of vitreous porcelain.
    continue reading
  • 1960

    Local Engagement

    Opening of the SOS-Kinderdorf (family-structured village for orphans) in Hilbringen – the third of its kind in Germany – in the presence of the wife of Mr Lübke, the Federal President. The Kinderdorf is built on the initiative, and with the extensive support of Luitwin II von Boch and his wife, Beatrice. Even construction planning for Saarland's Kinderdorf is in the hands of Villeroy & Boch's construction department.
    continue reading
  • 1971

    Overseas activities intensify

    The first large-scale shipment of crockery goes to Japan. At the same time exports to the USA are stepped up. A series of special editions is created for this market. The crockery sector's name change to Tableware signalises the move towards a new integral range. Designer Helen von Boch creates emphatically modern series, some of which are inspired by the Far East, the best known of which is the Kugel (globe). Concealed inside is a complete dinner service and its production requires the highest degree of technical skill.
    continue reading
  • 1975

    Cooperation with Luigi Colani

    Commissioned by Villeroy & Boch, Luigi Colani develops a completely new bathroom concept which totally redefines the bathroom as a living space and place for regeneration. He begins by concentrating on the room's ergonomic aspect, and achieves optimised functionality and distinctive colourfulness in all areas. It is also the first concept which creates a consistent line of design for every bathroom element. In so doing he provides inspiration for the designs of decades to come and revolutionises the bathroom industry.
    continue reading
  • 1976

    First Villeroy&Boch Bone China ranges

    Villeroy & Boch takes over the highly-traditional Heinrich porcelain manufactory in Selb. Since 1980, this factory has manufactured bone china, which Villeroy & Boch was the first producer to market on the European Continent. (The company had already manufactured individual series as early as the 19th century.) Bone china is regarded as the most refined porcelain of all and its manufacture requires special technical know-how. This high-quality porcelain not only extends the company's range of materials, but also enables new markets to be opened up.
    continue reading
  • 1980

    The papal tableware

    Villeroy & Boch continues the tradition of its own subsidiary Heinrich, which has supplied popes and renowned dynasties since 1955, and manufactures papal tableware: in 1980 Wendelin von Boch presents the crockery at a private audience with Pope John Paul II in 1980, and with Pope Benedict XVI in 2007.
    continue reading
  • 1982

    Restructuring the company

    The Villeroy & Boch company is restructured. In view of sustained stagnation in the construction industry and a tremendous concentration in the retail sector, market development is given a new basis. Customer support and supply is no longer carried out by the individual factories, but centrally. The company is divided into three divisions: Tiles, Sanitary Ware and Tableware/Crystal. By using this "single source" strategy, Villeroy & Boch is able to respond to the requirements and wishes of its market partners in the retail, trade and commercial sectors promptly, flexibly and with a close focus on customer needs.
    continue reading
  • 1985

    Advertising campaigns with Helmut Newton

    Villeroy & Boch launches one of the most spectacular and artistically appealing advertising campaigns of the Eighties. Star photographer Helmut Newton is engaged to create 14 advertisement motifs for the Sanitary Ware Division. In the resulting black and white photographs, long-legged models present the new bathroom products in Newton’s signature style. The campaign is voted campaign of the year by a jury of advertising experts from Cosmopolitan magazine. A special exhibition, "Ahead of their time – Helmut Newton and Villeroy & Boch", held 20 years later at the Ceramics Museum looks back at the pioneering, once provocative advertising campaign.
    continue reading
  • 1986

    New impulses with Mix & Match

    Changes in society combined with a rising number of single households give rise to new lifestyle and consumer habits which also affect the tableware sector. Villeroy & Boch's innovative Mix & Match concept is a response to this changed way of life. It enables patterns to be freely combined and subsequent purchases to made according to individual demand, with the effect that consumers are not compelled to buy a 12-piece service. On the contrary, they are able to use variable, coordinated tableware designs to create a constantly new look for their laid table. The Mix & Match products, which introduce new market stimuli, become an international success. They continue to influence the appearance of table settings and above all, modern tableware design to this day.
    continue reading
  • 1987

    Collaboration with designers

    Up to now a limited partnership, the company is converted into a public limited company. The capital of the new Villeroy & Boch AG remains in the family. The year 1987 marks the beginning of a cooperation with one of our era's most illustrious designers, Paloma Picasso. After designing a tile collection, she goes on to create tableware, cutlery and crystal collections. Her tableware designs mirror, above all, the origins of her design in the area of jewellery. Quality of design forms a central, connecting theme which runs throughout the company's history. In addition to the company's own designers, world-famous designers have also worked for Villeroy & Boch since the 19th century. These include van de Velde, Olbrich and Behrens. These three in particular give Villeroy & Boch products their typical, distinctive style. Luigi Colani, Matteo Thun, Keith Hearing, Conran, Kenzo, Joop, Roberto Capucci, Isabelle de Borchgrave, Helen von Boch, Maggy Champsaur, Rainer Moll and Frog Design are among the internationally renowned designers who have been engaged by Villeroy & Boch in the second half of the 20th century.
    continue reading
  • 1989

    Specialising in hotel porcelain

    A second tableware factory, specialised in the manufacture of hotel porcelain, is put into operation in Luxembourg. Today, the Hotel Division is one of the world's most successful suppliers of tableware for the hotel and catering sector. This is not only because of its extensive, high-quality range of products, but also due to its polished, sophisticated service. Its four lifestyles and special, custom-made designs allow Villeroy & Boch to respond individually to the character of each respective establishment. Middle to high-class hotels and restaurants throughout Europe, America and Asia are equipped with Villeroy & Boch tableware.
    continue reading
  • 1990

    Villeroy&Boch at the stock exchange

    Following thorough company restructuring, strategic reorientation and the conversion of Villeroy & Boch KG into a public limited company, Villeroy & Boch starts trading on the stock exchange. This step marks the beginning of a new phase of opening up capital markets.
    continue reading
  • 1992

    Villeroy&Boch expands in Hungary and Romania

    Villeroy & Boch acquires a majority interest in Aföldi Porcelàngyàr, the largest manufacturer of ceramic sanitary ware in Hungary, and four years later in Mondial S.A., the Romanian manufacturer of ceramic sanitary ware. In the years which follow the company makes further strategic acquisitions which enable Villeroy & Boch to extend its product portfolio and at the same time open up the respective domestic markets. (See 1999)
    continue reading
  • 1998

    The company's 250th anniversary

    The company's 250th anniversary. Many leading European politicians take part in the large-scale celebration gala in Mettlach, including the Federal Chancellor at that time, Helmut Kohl, Luxembourg's Minister President, Jean-Claude Juncker, France's Minister of Finance, Mr Strauss-Kahn and Saarland's Minister President, Oscar Lafontaine. In his official address, Helmut Kohl described Villeroy & Boch as " Europeans of the first generation". In the same year, Wendelin von Boch – the founder-family's eighth generation – is appointed Chairman Management Board. Under his direction further modernisation measures are carried out within the Group: he initiates the change in Villeroy & Boch's corporate direction, converting it from a production-oriented ceramics producer to a lifestyle supplier. At the heart of this paradigm shift is the sales and marketing concept The House of Villeroy & Boch, the extensive implementation of which is one of the Group's strategic goals. This concept is based on an integral, extremely differentiated range, offering individual combination alternatives. An innovative presentation of products in realistic, emotionally appealing room situations is tailored to suit each lifestyle. In order to round off this consistently integral range, Wendelin von Boch continues the diversification strategy by making further acquisitions. In view of the changed market conditions throughout the world, von Boch also pushes ahead with the company's internationalisation and globalisation in the years which follow and focuses activities on the brand.
    continue reading
  • 1999

    Core Business of the Group

    As a lifestyle supplier Villeroy & Boch focuses on a comprehensive, diversified range which allows the supply of complex interior design solutions. "The single-source bathroom", "the completely-laid table" and "tiles for the private and commercial sector" constitute the Group's core business. In order to be able to offer this comprehensive product range, Villeroy & Boch makes further acquisitions: in 1999, Ucosan B.V., Netherlands, manufacturer of plastic bathtubs, whirlpool and steam-shower systems, in 2000, Gustavsberg, Sweden, manufacturer of bathroom ceramics and fittings and in 2001, db – Das Bad, Austrian manufacturer of bathroom furniture.
    continue reading
  • 2000

    Taking new paths in the new millennium

  • 2002

    Modern exhibition concept in Ceramics Museum Mettlach

    The Keramikmuseum Mettlach (Mettlach Ceramics Museum) provides a new home for the extensive ceramics collection. Presenting both the tradition and modernity of the Villeroy & Boch company in an exciting, dramatic relationship, this directional exhibition concept creates the ideal setting for the valuable exhibits from the last four centuries. Fine examples give visitors a first-hand experience of the change in everyday culture.
    continue reading
  • 2003

    Restoration and return of Schinkel Fountain

    Following extensive restoration work carried out by Villeroy & Boch and the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz (German Foundation for the Protection of Ancient Monuments), the Schinkel Fountain returns to its former place in the Old Abbey Park. The fountain was given to Jean-Franҫois Boch as a present in 1838, on the occasion of a visit by Fredrick William, Crown Prince of Prussia. It was designed by the Berlin Court Architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel.
    continue reading
  • 2004

    Expansion in key growth markets

    A branch of the Bathroom and Wellness Division is opened in Shanghai for the purpose of developing the Chinese market. China's brand-oriented consumers enjoy a high level of purchasing power and hold great potential for Villeroy & Boch. This branch represents a further step towards developing the company's position in major global growth markets.
    continue reading
  • 2005

    Innovation NewWave

    Villeroy & Boch receives the German Business Innovation Award in the "medium-sized business category" for the design and production technique of its NewWave cup. This award confirms a corporate strategy in which innovative activity holds a key position for international market success and brand image.
    continue reading
  • 2007

    Reorganisation of the company

    Villeroy & Boch sells 51% of V & B Fliesen GmbH to Eczacibasi – a highly-competitive Turkish industrial group. Operations continue at the factory locations in Germany and France. Management Board restructuring following the move of its Chairman, Wendelin von Boch to the Supervisory Board. He is succeeded by Frank Göring, who is responsible for the two divisions Bathroom and Wellness and Tableware. Management Board member Manfred Finger heads the Finance and Personnel divisions, and is also Director of Human Resources. The new Management Board unit, Corporate Development, is under the direction of Volker Pruschke. Distribution strategy will focus on further internationalisation: numerous new points of sale will come into existence in the tableware sector in 2007. These will be, above all, Houses of Villeroy & Boch in the new growth markets of China, India and the Arab States and will include, for example, Beijing, Bombay, Haiderabad, Casablanca, Qatar, Algeria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The Ceramics Museum in Mettlach acquires an unusual café, designed according to blueprints from the 19th century. During that period Villeroy & Boch designed and completed numerous commercial properties. These include the Dresden Dairy of 1892, on which the design of the café is based. Virtually all furnishing elements are made of artistically-patterned tiles. As it is such a unique example of interior design, the museum café in itself offers visitors a further art delight.
    continue reading
  • 2008

    Internationalization in Asia

    Villeroy & Boch continues its strategy of internationalisation by purchasing Nahm Sanitaryware Co. Ltd. in Bangkok. In so doing, it has created a platform which will enable more efficient use to be made of the high sales potential in the Asiatic region. In order to expand its range of internationally successful bathroom furniture and strategically develop its position in the bathroom-furniture sector, Villeroy & Boch takes over Sanipa, the bathroom-furniture manufacturer in Treuchtlingen, Germany.
    continue reading
  • 2009

    Competitiveness is optimised

    Against the background of a global financial crisis, affecting the sales situation in both divisions, Villeroy & Boch passes a package of measures aimed at increasing competitiveness. It involves the specialisation of locations, creating centres of competence and continuing to progressively automate production processes.
    continue reading
  • 2013

    DirectFlush

    Intelligent engineering: by launching DirectFlush technology, Villeroy & Boch has successfully brought a new generation of toilets to market. The intelligent flushing system provides more hygiene with less cleaning and low water consumption. A DirectFlush toilet only consumes 3 or 4.5 litres of water per flush with maximum flushing efficiency. This innovation has quickly became popular. In 2015, sales of DirectFlush and HygieneFlush toilets doubled in comparison with the previous year.
    continue reading
  • 2015

    TitanCeram

    A milestone in ceramic research: drawing on 270 years of ceramic experience, a new material – TitanCeram – was developed, which is used specifically for very delicate, high-quality designs. The special composition of natural raw materials such as quartz, feldspar and clay with titanium dioxide enables elegant designs with high stability. TitanCeram allows the production of precise washbasins with extremely thin walls and clearly defined edges, which are also very robust.
    continue reading
  • 2018

    Factory N°09 completed

    Villeroy & Boch employees from the Communication departments have been working in a new office and conference centre in Mettlach since February 2018. Factory N°09 marks the completion of an important part of the “Mettlach 2.0” site development project. Today, the only reminder of the incarnation of these former warehouse and production premises is the name Factory N°09. With its diverse spectrum of working spaces, the new building has broken away from conventional office structures: about 4,000 square metres provide a tailored work space for each activity.
    continue reading
  • 2018

    Visit by the German Federal President

    In March 2018, Villeroy & Boch welcomed a distinguished visitor to the company’s headquarters. As part of his inaugural visit to Saarland, the Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, accompanied by his wife Elke Büdenbender, came to our company and found out about the history of the ceramic manufacturer on a guided tour through Keravision. Also current topics regarding the new working environment were important to the president. Villeroy & Boch employees had the opportunity to talk to the Federal President during a concluding discussion session in Factory N°09’s market square.
    continue reading
  • 2019

    Factory N°09

    Exceptional combination of history with modern working environments on an innovative and technologised space: in March 2019, Fabrik N°09 will be awarded the "ZIA Office Award 2019" by the Zentraler Immobilien Ausschuss e.V. (Central Real Estate Committee) in Berlin in the category "Hardware".
    continue reading
  • 2020

    The evolution of an icon

    Almost 50 years after Helen von Boch created the fascinating sphere, Villeroy & Boch has relaunched the unique design idea and presents La Boule, a modern reinterpretation of the design masterpiece.
    continue reading
  • 2021

    From Tableware to Dining & Lifestyle

    The Division positions itself for the future: With effect from 01 January 2021, Villeroy & Boch is renaming its Tableware Division as Dining & Lifestyle. The new name reflects the changes within the Division. This is because Villeroy & Boch offers much more than tableware, and the product portfolio has become more diverse. The products now not only embellish the table and dining table, but also turn the entire home into something special.
    continue reading
  • 2022

    Award-winning innovation

    Villeroy & Boch is honoured for its exemplary innovation work as one of the "TOP 100 Innovators" 2022 in the German SME sector.
    continue reading
  • ANNIVERSARY YEAR 2023 - ALL ABOUT 275 YEARS CREATING HOMES

History
History
1700A world company emerges
1748The birth of the company
1766Luxembourg
1770Alt Luxemburg
1791Ceramics manufacturers Villeroy
1800From Mettlach to the whole world
1809Acquisition of the Old Abbey in Mettlach
1812Social commitment
1829Production of earthenware
1836Merger between Boch and Villeroy
1843Complete offer as corporate strategy
1851World Exhibition
1852Mettlacher Platten
1856Export markets are opened
1876The first ceramic sanitary-ware production
1879Artistic terracotta items
1888Vincent van Gogh
1890Project business begins
1899Large-scale production of bathtubs and toilets
1900Between world wars, innovations and expansion
1920The First World War and the consequences
1930The Bauhaus and art déco styles dominate design
1939Second World War
1959New types of porcelain emerge
1960Local Engagement
1971Overseas activities intensify
1975Cooperation with Luigi Colani
1976First Villeroy&Boch Bone China ranges
1980The papal tableware
1982Restructuring the company
1985Advertising campaigns with Helmut Newton
1986New impulses with Mix & Match
1987Collaboration with designers
1989Specialising in hotel porcelain
1990Villeroy&Boch at the stock exchange
1992Villeroy&Boch expands in Hungary and Romania
1998The company's 250th anniversary
1999Core Business of the Group
2000Taking new paths in the new millennium
2002Modern exhibition concept in Ceramics Museum Mettlach
2003Restoration and return of Schinkel Fountain
2004Expansion in key growth markets
2005Innovation NewWave
2007Reorganisation of the company
2008Internationalization in Asia
2009Competitiveness is optimised
2013DirectFlush
2015TitanCeram
2018Factory N°09 completed
2018Visit by the German Federal President
2019Factory N°09
2020The evolution of an icon
2021From Tableware to Dining & Lifestyle
2022Award-winning innovation
ANNIVERSARY YEAR 2023 - ALL ABOUT 275 YEARS CREATING HOMES

Since 1748, Villeroy & Boch has stood for quality and sophisticated aesthetics, for forward-looking ideas and techniques relating to ceramics. It has always been Villeroy & Boch's ambition to design our homes in order to enjoy life's moments. "Creating Homes" means more than furnishing a house. "Creating Homes" means realising one's personal ideas, one's own lifestyle and feeling at home.