Gulf Construction Online - Hansgrohe among best in design list

Ceramics & Sanitary Ware

Hansgrohe among best in design list

01 February 2009

Hansgrohe, which has been setting new benchmarks in terms of product design since the late 1960s, says it has received recognition as one of the design leaders in the sanitation sector.

The International Forum Design (iF) has ranked the German bathroom mixers and showers specialist among the world’s best in terms of design and styling, according to a spokesman for the company.
He elaborates: “In November 2008, for the first time, the independent institution presented a ranking system that represents the best companies in terms of design. Hansgrohe is now among the leading international companies in the field of design alongside Apple, Adidas, Sony, BMW, Loewe and Daimler, to name a few.
“At position 21 in the iF ranking from a total of 1,604 listed companies and with 520 points, Hansgrohe also tops the design charts for the sanitation industry – ahead of Hoesch (31st position) as well as the jointly-placed Aloys F Dornbracht Armaturen and Company and Ceramica Catalano (69th with 180th positions, respectively). The rankings are based on the results of all iF competitions since 2006.”
To date, products from the company have won more than 270 prestigious design awards, according to Hansgrohe.
Phillipe Grohe, manager of Hansgrohe’s designer brand Axor, comments: “Where design is concerned, Hansgrohe is certainly the world's most successful manufacturer of bathroom mixers and showers. Ahead of others in our industry, we extended our focus on functional quality to include ‘good form’ and cooperation with important personalities from the design world, such as Philippe Starck, Antonio Citterio, Jean-Marie Massaud, Patricia Urquiola and Phoenix Design.”
“While the visions and creative ideas of our design partners have always challenged us – in research and development as well as in production – they have also brought us forward a good measure. Today, we are one of the trendsetters in the bathroom whereas those companies that do not invest in creative force from outside or make design subordinate to production specifications can only struggle to keep pace. And this too is reflected in the iF ranking.”
Incidentally, long-standing Hansgrohe design partners Andreas Haug and Tom Schönherr of Phoenix Design in Stuttgart also secured the ninth place in the “creative” category from a total of 1,358 in-house designers, design offices, agencies and architects,” he adds.
Phoenix Design and Hansgrohe have been working together closely for more than two decades on developing innovative ideas for the bathroom. Among their joint successes are the “Raindance” shower range and the “Talis S” mixer line.
Founded in 1901, Hansgrohe is regarded as one of the pioneers in the German sanitation industry and the founder of modern showering culture. The company has a global workforce of more than 3,200 employees, with two-thirds of them working in Germany. It manufactures its products in six German plants, in France, the Netherlands, the US and China.