TIMBT Co

TIMBTCO, LTD. – A History:

In the middle of the 19th century, Carl Neusmos, a German-American cement plant operator, Lezuls Gusto, an Italian stone cutter, and Klaus Behinter, a Czechoslovakian plumber, all shared a similar vision for improved sanitary edifices to provide to ever-growing, modernizing cities. Neusmos, having seen ever larger precast concrete pipes, was convinced this could be applied to a wider range than the drainage and construction fields and was looking for a niche to fill. Gusto, working to cut thin veneer stone from granite and marble, saw tremendous waste of sought-after material and ruminated on a way to reduce, or at least utilize, the particulate debris stone carving produced by the ton. Meanwhile Behinter, after years of knocking together pipes to repair or replace corroded or flimsy plumbing work, was contemplating how to best create watertight fittings and construction to limit undue maintenance problems. All three were distraught such issues were not getting consideration from others in their field, it seemed everyone was content to work with accepted methods. After meeting at a technological exposition at which all their respective fields were represented, they decided that some manner of collaboration was in order. Bringing together their expertise, they developed a patent method for casting concrete furnishings using fine stone particulate and glazing for a smooth, polished stone finish. Though still only making prototypes, the trio was satisfied that their ideas had created a tangible result, and now began the task of implementation. After initial reception to the new fixtures was lukewarm at best, they further developed their technique to create false stone patterns in their concrete edifices. These were a fraction of the cost of natural stone but still held much of the appeal.

With the ensuing success of their faux-marble tubs and sinks, the trio founded The Imitation Marble Bath Tub Company, INC. in 18XX as a trade name for their now successful innovation. This was a wild success, propelling them from their tradesman origins to managers of a large concern within only a few years. They built a large plant to house all the rock crushing, cement mixing, molding, and glazing required to best manufacture their design. With newfound resources they developed even more durable materials and processes turning out stoneware products of unmatched quality, and allowing diversification into all manner of sanitary fixtures from baths and sinks to toilets, urinals, water fountains, and even whole countertops. Their ability to cast such a durable and clean surface to most any size and shape required landed them contract after contract with commercial outfitters and a large share of residential furnishings alike. Although far from cornering the market, TIMBTCO INC., as it was now known, had carved out a solid foothold. One could scarcely enter a public lavatory, restaurant, school, or hospital without seeing one of their myriad products. Advertising the low cost for durability, they adopted the line “Quality in Reach with Imitation Marble Bath Tubs”. And for some time, this continued, with a consistent stream of new buildings ordering the concrete basins. But not everything was well, as the market was changing.
Newer, taller structures going up often opted for lighter weight stamped metal or slip-cast porcelain where weight was of primary concern in ease of installation. Likewise developments by other companies in plastic and rubber sealants made multi-panel modular construction the new method for sanitary locations.

Undaunted, TIMBTCO continued production of their mainstay product line, only pivoting resources to their cast iron and stamped metal offerings as a precaution. Since the same glaze could be applied to the metal tubs they figured similar quality could be maintained as the stone, and in most cases they were correct. However, as cheaper and cheaper housing went up, fewer were concerned with using the most durable of fixtures and opted for competitors. Seeing a significant decline in revenue, TIMBTCO halted all but a few of their concrete production lines in favor of their glazed stamped metal designs, reworking whole facilities. This turned around for a short while, with more contracts for the suburban developments springing up around the cities. But it was not enough to compete with the now well-established new standards for thin porcelain and composite construction. It also did not help that by this point, the company was under the management of the third generation descended from the original founders, who had grown used to high profits and were now seeing them slip away. They turned to the few cleaning and care products their chemical department had developed for maintaining the glazed stoneware, hoping that they could continue to stay afloat on the upkeep of their existing products. For the meantime, it seemed to work, and the new sealers they either invented or bought rights to kept the numbers in the black. But it came at the cost of their original invention, much of production being shelved except for the thinnest of stamped tubs that could compete with the lightweights. While not entirely scrapped yet, they chose to favor another reworking of their plants to produce their sealing and cleaning chemicals, as they were what was selling. But even that did not last. Eventually, many that aimed to keep their TIMBTCO fixtures settled in to the very low maintenance routine to keep their solid glazed concrete in top condition and didn’t need the fancy new product lines.

Simultaneously, renovators were actively ripping out the old sanitary workings of buildings that were seen as outdated. “Tub-Tipping” became a favorite of the demolition man, dropping the heavy basins with a crash from multiple story windows to make way for the next innovation. Just as their sinks and toilets were crashing to the ground, so too was the company. Unable to continue on the tile grout sealers, glaze re-conditioners, and few fixtures they still made, they hastily re-developed their glaze into a coating product that could bring a semblance of the imitation stone patterns to just about any surface, including the new lightweights. This appealed to those that would have wanted the look of their original product but not the hassle of installing something that weighty. For the moment, the company seemed stable with sales of the coating and cleaner, branding it as ‘Tation Tub: imitation paint-on stone. The ease of this new product to turn anything into the likes of stone brought a resurgence of business to TIMBTCO and promised a comfortable niche for the foreseeable future. With the newfound ease of application, consumers could re-model their bathrooms with ease, choosing from a wide variety of colors and patterns without tearing everything out. But, the peace did not last. As this desire for quick renovation ramped up, many more competitors developed an increasing range of similar treatments that out-competed the few options TIMBTCO had to offer. Once again faced with declining profitability, they were forced to liquidate most of their production facilities save for the chemical division that made their cleaning products. When even this failed to save the company, the top management decided to get out while they could and sold the production rights and remaining assets to Regalgent Chemical. The primary business of Regalgent Chemical was not in concrete edifices, glazes, or stone patterns, but industrial solvents.

Formed from the merger of Regal Reagent and General Chemical about a decade prior, their acquisition of TIMBTCO was purely for the exact formula of their cleaning product, as it was the last profitable product line to be had. Quickly after the buy-out, Regalgent sold off the remaining properties and outfitted their facilities for producing the scouring, mildly-etching cleaner. They retained the branding of ‘Tation Tub, now referring solely to the cleaner as the faux-stone surface glazes had by this point fallen almost entirely out of fashion. Old buildings continued to harbor the original glazed concrete fixtures, but they became a scarcer and rarer sight as renovations continued to bust them up. Those remaining installed often suffered from neglect in abandoned buildings, while those saved from renovations sat in warehouses with no one willing to re-install the heavy and often damaged tubs. Gradually even the schools an hospitals that most diligently maintained their facilities decided on modernizing and replaced their TIMBTCO fixtures. Regalgent’s investment profited though, and continued advertising using the TIMBTCO name, re-coining the tag line of “Quality in Reach” to “One little reach with ‘Tation Tub tile and glazed tub cleaner” to emphasize the ease it made cleaning. With an increased focus on magazine, radio, and television advertisements there came photo shoots, commercials, and other attention-grabbing paraphernalia espousing their cleaner. All the while, Regalgent, pressured by claims the cleaner corroded and discolored plastic baths and their own bottom line, gradually cheapened their cleaner into a much watered-down version of its former self. Some that had used the products since the TIMBTCO days noticed and complained, but it largely fell on deaf ears. Regalgent knew it was too big now to fail, having repeated the process of acquisition with many other companies.

Gradually the ‘Tation Tub name faded into the noise of the plethora of concoctions in the now re-branded Regal Products line and with the sea of outside competitors. Many still used it, but very few thought or cared anything about the now forgotten name TIMBTCO as it had long been dispensed with from the packaging. It was now only the odd glance at a urinal in an old theater or discovery of a molded-in nameplate on the bottom of a cast iron bath that bore witness to the name. Some glazed concrete still glistened in long standing institutions, cared for nearly a century after their manufacture, still performing just as they have and ought to continue to. Those displaced but surviving in abandoned buildings, salvage yards, and warehouses scarcely got even the casually interested glance from a contractor. The original manufacturing plants, now long shuttered, have been gutted and renovated, bought and sold in real-estate deal after questionable real-estate deal. As a blonde actress scrubs a bathtub on camera for a new commercial, chanting “One Little Reach with ‘Tation Tub!”, no one watching remembers TIMBTCO, much less the names Neusmos, Gusto, and Behinter, less still their smooth, glazed concrete genius that once became an unwavering standard. So millions of shoppers pass the family-size plastic bottles of ‘Tation Tub on the shelves of their grocery, home goods, and hardware stores, maybe pick one up to beat the grime, and go about their lives. And every so often someone at an antiques store will faun over a vintage corner sink with TIMBTCO marked on it. And if they were to research it they’d find some article or video that begins:
So we all know ‘Tation Tub…
But did you know its name comes from…
The Imitation Marble Bath Tub Company?

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