1884 — Today

Third-generation metalworker Johan Heinrich Auchenberg established 'J.H. Auchenberg' in 1884 at Pilestræde 8 in the centre of Copenhagen. The original Auchenberg speciality was gas fittings and technical valves, but when the founder Johan Heinrich died in 1911 and his youngest son, Einer Otto, took over, he changed the company name to 'E.O. Auchenberg' and simultaneously shifted production to sanitary fittings.

When the seat of the Danish parliament, Christiansborg Palace, burned down in 1884, a comprehensive reconstruction was required, which took place from 1906 to 1928. It was E.O. Auchenberg that specially produced and supplied the now well-known Christiansborg fittings for the major rebuilding.

H. Martens Metalvarefabrik, which was later acquired by E.O. Auchenberg, was established on 5 June 1918 by the 30-year-old Hugo Martens. From the outset, Hugo equipped all his fittings with a shut-off valve beneath each seat, which at the time was quite unusual and otherwise only seen at Auchenberg — where Hugo himself had trained as a metalworker.

As an engineer and mechanical superintendent at Gentofte County Hospital just north of Copenhagen in the 1930s, Otto Sparre-Petersen developed a durable faucet capable of withstanding the hospital’s extreme demands. H. Martens Metalvarefabrik subsequently secured the patent and production rights to the SP faucet, aptly named after Sparre-Petersen.

E.O. Auchenberg’s son, Fritz Toxborg, purchased H. Martens Metalvarefabrik in 1956. Freeing himself from his father’s influence, he promptly renamed the newly acquired company 'TONI'. The first two letters of Toxborg’s surname formed the first half of the company’s new name, while the final two derive from the surname 'Nielsen', as a tribute to one of his close friends from the resistance movement during World War II.

In addition, Toxborg introduced a new logo depicting a castle with the name TONI elegantly framed within it — the idea for the castle stemming from his own surname (as "borg" means castle in Danish). With the acquisition, Toxborg also obtained the rights to the SP handle, whose high value he recognised as a fifth-generation metalworker.

TONI supplied 15,000 SP Elbow faucets to the new Rigshospitalet (Denmark's national hospital). Many of those very faucets, can still be found at the hospital to this day. Later, TONI faucets, particularly the SP Elbow, gained a foothold in 60–70% of the Danish hospital sector.

Kurt Erling Nielsen takes over TONI. He came from a background at the builders’ merchant Brødrene A&O.

The T-Line series was designed by the award-winning architect and industrial designer Knud Holscher, and is included in the permanent collection at Die Neue Sammlung, Munich’s counterpart to MoMA in New York. Unfortunately, the T-Line series is no longer in production.

Architect Henning Larsen used the Cross-Handle collection for the impressive construction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. TONI fittings have since also been used at the Danish Embassy in Riyadh, the National Museum in Bahrain, the Central Bank in Baghdad, and The Møller Institute at Churchill College in Cambridge.

At the ‘Byggeri for milliarder’ trade fair, TONI relaunched the Christiansborg faucet with red and blue cuff buttons. The Danish royal family where among the first customers to purchase the new faucets for Amalienborg Palace and Valdemar’s Palace.

Prince Henrik of Denmark and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Niels Helveg Petersen, attended the opening of TONI’s own factory in South Africa. The factory was later closed, and production is today once again based in a small courtyard in Copenhagen.

Architect Henning Larsen designed the Glyptotek’s new extension, drawing inspiration from both ancient Egyptian architecture and the narrow streets of Mediterranean mountain towns. Throughout much of his career, Henning Larsen favoured TONI as his preferred choice of faucets, and he therefore used them frequently in his projects during this period.

The Christiansborg faucet is highlighted in the book Dansk Design by Thomas Dickson. The book explores Denmark’s journey to becoming an innovative design nation.

The Royal Danish Theatre underwent a comprehensive renovation, and TONI supplied the faucets to the theatre in several phases throughout the 2000s.

In November 2017, the world-renowned hotel Nimb expanded with a new wing, known as 'Tivoli Corner'. The hotel grew to a total of 38 luxurious rooms and suites, all furnished to the highest standard, including fixtures from TONI.

Later, in 2020, Nimb became the only hotel in Northern Europe to feature on Condé Nast’s prestigious ‘Gold List’ of the world’s best hotels.

After 45 years of ownership, the Nielsen family sold the company to a new group of owners. TONI appointed a new Chief Executive Officer, Mark Christiansen, and at the same time changed its name to ‘TONI Copenhagen’ and reverted to the original logo from Toxborg’s era.

TONI Copenhagen relocated from Rødovre to a charming little courtyard on Lykkesholms Allé in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, where we now have our showroom, workshop, and office.

TONI Copenhagen launched a collection of kitchen and bathroom accessories under the name 'Heritage'. The collection pays tribute to the company’s traditional craftsmanship, viewed through a contemporary lens. The collection was designed by TONI Copenhagen’s Creative Director, Bjarke Vind Normann.

Our original faucets from 1918 and 1922 were relaunched using modern technology. The collection, named Elements, offers both boiling and filtered water.