OUR STORY: A POTTED HISTORY

Designing And Manufacturing In The UK, Since 1901.

SINCE 1901 WE'VE BEEN DESIGNING AND MAKING THE FINEST SELECTION OF HIGH-QUALITY CERMAIC WALL TILES, RIGHT HERE IN THE UK.

Being a celebrated UK heritage brand is part of our culture, but the Johnson Tiles success story is built on innovation. With over 120 years’ experience, we're proudly staying true to Johnson Tiles’ roots in the Potteries’ heartland of Stoke-on-Trent, and we are consistently raising the bar in terms of inspirational design, quality of service, and sustainability leadership. Here’s our story so far...

1901

Johnson Tiles is founded by Col. Harry Johnson and The Johnson Family in Cobridge, Stoke-on-Trent.

1911 - 1968

Johnson Tiles acquires the surrounding Potteries based ceamic tile companies bringing them all under the same brand at the Highgate Works in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent.

1979

Norcros plc acquires Johnson Tiles and changes its name to H&R Johnson Tiles Ltd.

Today Norcros is a market leading supplier of high quality and innovative bathroom and kitchen products, featuring the following brands: Johnson Tiles, Vado, Croydex, Norcros Adhesives, Tal, Tile Africa, Abode Homes, House of Plumbing, Meryln, Triton, Johnson Tiles South Africa and Grant Westfield.

1997

Johnson Tiles is awarded The Queens Award for Environmental Achievement, acknowledging our industry leading waste ceramic recycling system, which means all manufactured tiles contain up to 20% recycled materials from its factory and 14 other local ceramics manufacturers.

2001

Whilst celebrating the centenary year and following a £35million investment, Johnson Tiles relocated to a purpose-built state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the heartland of the Potteries in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent.

2006

Material Lab - A hub for new materials and inspiration in opened in London, with the sole purpose of answering the needs of the architect and design community.

2008

Johnson Tiles became the first UK ceramics manufacturer to produce photo-realistic patterns on tiles using state-of-the-art ink-jet printing technology.

2008 - 2011

Through continued environmental commitments, Johnson Tiles secures a top position in the Sunday Times Top 50 Green Companies in the UK, as-well-as being awarded the Environmental Efficiency Award by the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF).

2014

After being approached by artist Paul Cummins, Johnson Tiles agrees to help in the production and meet the target of 888,246 ceramic poppies required for the ‘Blood Swept Lands’ installation at the Tower of London. Each ceramic poppy represents a person who died during the war.

2015

Hilton Hotel in Hawaii is officially unveiled with a ceremony of Hawaiian blessing and dedication, the completion of the giant mural required more than 31,000 tiles and its $4.25million restoration is a testament to our skills as the leading ceramic manufacturers in the world.

2017

Since its launch in 2006, Material Lab has served as a dedicated resource centre to the architect and design community. To celebrate the milestone ten year anniversary, Johnson Tiles decided to develop the space even further.

2019

Thanks to a £650K investment, Johnson Tiles is able to install two new ink-jet machines into the factory. It also enabled the production of world-class small format products more efficiently than anyone else globally.

2020

Over the previous 12 months leading up to 2020, Johnson Tiles focused specifically on eradicating all single-use plastics from the packaging. In doing so, Johnson Tiles has been positioned as the very first UK volume manufacturer to incorporate such innovative sustainable products into the packaging solution.

2021

To kick-start the milestone year, Johnson Tiles unveiled an updated company logo. The subtle introduction of the national flag is reflective of the British resourcefulness that has seen Johnson Tiles make it to 120 years of manufacturing.

2022

Johnson Tiles becomes the only UK tile manufacturer to hold an EPD certificate. The Environmental Product Declaration and it transparently communicates the environmental performance or impact of our tiles over their lifetime.

It signals a manufacturer’s commitment to measuring the environmental impacts of its products and the strive to discover ways to reduce this.

Present Day

Today, Johnson Tiles continues to invest in new equipment, eco-friendly products, markets and services, with numerous major projects underway throughout the globe including: Schools and education facilities, hotels, healthcare, housing, retail spaces, airports and more.