KITCHEN + BATH
With rejuvenated design and less water per flush, Kohler’s Wellworth toilet turns 75 years old
O
ne of America’s oldest — and certainly most iconic — toilets turns 75 years old
this year and, for the first time in 25 years, has received a rejuvenated design, fortifying the Kohler Wellworth toilet as a home staple which has stood the test of time. From its initial launch into the
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marketplace in 1936, when a first- class postage stamp was just 3 cents, the Kohler Wellworth toilet has long been specified by generations of plumbing contractors and discerning home owners. A refreshed design should ensure that this classic bathroom product will remain a fixture in the home for many more years, as new generations come to know this necessity. “In my opinion, the Wellworth
toilet truly is the plumbers’ toilet and has been for multiple generations of family plumbers,” said master plumber Ed Del Grande of Rhode Island. “I am a third generation plumber. My grandfather installed the very first versions in 1936, when the toilet was originally introduced. I remember my father installing them in the 1950s, and I have been installing Wellworth toilets since the late 1970s. They have always had a place on my family’s plumbing truck.” Over the years, the Kohler
Wellworth toilet has undergone
numerous aesthetic design changes, as well as enhancements in performance and technology to always deliver reliability and value for homeowners and plumbers alike. In 1974, the Wellworth Water-Guard toilet was introduced; it flushed 3.5 gallons of water. At the time, Kohler
sewage systems and lower sewage and water treatment costs. The Wellworth Water-Guard toilet uses 3.5 gallons of water per flush, a reduction of 30% from conventional toilets, which require as much as five gallons. The 1.6 gpf Wellworth toilet was introduced in 1994, in accordance
The unmistakable sleek design of the Wellworth toilet has evolved 75 years, and has remained one of Kohler’s most popular models.
product literature described it in this manner: A line of low-consumption toilets,
faucets and showerheads is introduced. The products are designed to reduce strain on municipal and private
with the guidelines set forth by the 1992 National Energy Policy Act. The newest Wellworth now offers two toilet options — a standard 1.6
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Kohler throws a birthday party for the Wellworth Toilet In December 2010, at corporate headquarters in Kohler, Wisconsin, the company threw a birthday party to recognize
the Wellworth toilet’s upcoming 75th year. What would a birthday party be without birthday cake for the company’s time-honored and most popular commode? Fortunately for Kohler, the company was able to lean on its talented chefs from the AAA Five-Diamond American Club Resort Hotel in Kohler, to bake the perfect cake; in this case, a toilet-shaped edible birthday cake. The Kohler Wellworth toilet was introduced to the marketplace in
1936, the same year Hoover Dam was completed, LIFE magazine was first published, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was re-elected president for a second term and Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. At the birthday gala, Kohler Co. president and chief operating
David Kohler, Kohler Co. president and COO (l), and Jeff Mayerl, Kohler product manager for toilets, kick off Wellworth’s birthday celebration with toilet- shaped birthday cake.
officer David Kohler addressed the party attendees, recognizing the efforts of those associates who served on the product development, marketing and sales teams. Kohler described the Wellworth toilet as a real workhorse for the company and one that emulated the most important product attributes required to compete in today’s marketplace — quality, value and performance. Following his address, he took part in the ceremonial cutting of the “toilet” birthday cake. Also on display at the Wellworth toilet’s birthday party were several of its predecessors in various colors, styles and shapes from the years 1936, 1970, 1980 and 2008.
phc april 2011
www.phcnews.com
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