Hansgrohe

Master clothier Hans Grohe (1871-1955) was an innovator. In 1899 he moved from Luckenwalde near Berlin to the small Black Forest town of Schiltach. Two years later he turned his back on weaving and established a metal pressing workshop. Hans Grohe had a passion for the element water, and so from 1901 onwards he bravely hedged his bets on the sanitary sector, which was still in its early stages of development. Of course, bathrooms in private houses were only just becoming fashionable at that time. He specialised in tin showers, thus laying the foundations for untold success. During the course of the 20th century, Hans Grohe’s small three-man operation in the Kinzigtal valley developed into a global company. Today it is one of the international innovation and market leaders for mixers and showers. Today, this bathroom and sanitary specialist employs around 3,200 workers, on every continent. A good two-thirds of these work in Germany. In the small Black Forest town of Schiltach, bathroom history is still being written.