Innovation Hub Hansgrohe: Reaching People through Creativity

21 April 2019: World Creativity and Innovation Day

Schiltach, April 2019. World Creativity and Innovation Day, celebrated every year on April 21, aims to encourage people to give their ideas free rein to make the world a better place. In its 118-year history, the Hansgrohe Group has proven time and again that creativity and a spirit of innovation improve people’s everyday lives. Be it the first handheld shower with adjustable spray modes, the first pull-out kitchen tap or the first shower rail with a height-adjustable shower head – Hansgrohe currently holds 15,000 active property rights – proof of the company’s unflagging spirit of innovation.

Innovative Ideas Need Freedom

To ensure that in the future, people continue to benefit from the creativity and inventiveness that the Hansgrohe Group brings to bathrooms and kitchens, the company continually invests in its own innovative strength. The Innovation Lab, founded in 2017, provides its team of developers with a space free of constraints to develop new products. “Creativity has to flow, our innovation teams need to be in a flow mode. We see that in children; they can be so absorbed by something that they forget everything else,” comments Steffen Erath, Head of Innovation at the Hansgrohe Group. “Creativity results in innovation when you have the right mix of courage, good instincts and a healthy appetite for risk.” RainTunes is Hansgrohe’s most recent innovation. Driven by the question of the importance of digitalisation for customers, an interdisciplinary innovation team has developed a product that fundamentally changes the shower experience. The digital system connects water, light, sound and fragrance, producing a selection of shower scenarios that appeals to all the senses.

Innovations for People’s Well-Being and a Healthy Environment

In developing products, Hansgrohe always focuses on people and their needs. “We at Hansgrohe do not create innovations for their own sake. For example, digital applications are only realised if they are of real benefit to the individual user,” Steffen Erath explains. When developing innovations, Hansgrohe focuses not only on its customers’ quality of life, but also on the sustainability of its products: the company has succeeded in systematically reducing the water and energy consumption of its showers and taps – without compromising on design and ease of use.

About the Hansgrohe Group – the Original from the Black Forest

With its brands AXOR and hansgrohe, the Hansgrohe Group, based in Schiltach/Southern Germany, enjoys a reputation as a leader in innovation, design and quality within the bath and kitchen industry. The Hansgrohe Group brings form and function to water with taps, showerheads and shower systems. The 118-year history of the company is marked by innovations such as the first hand-held shower with multiple spray types, the first pull-out kitchen tap, and the first wall bar to hold a hand-held shower. The company holds more than 15,000 active property rights. The Hansgrohe Group stands for long-lasting quality products. With 33 subsidiaries and 22 sales offices supplying products in more than 140 countries, the company is a reliable partner to its customers around the world. The Hansgrohe Group, its brands and products have won numerous awards, including more than 600 design prizes since 1974. Sustainable production of resource-conserving products is central to the company’s business activities around the globe. The products of the Hansgrohe Group are featured in projects around the world, such as the luxurious ocean liner Queen Mary 2, and the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The Group’s high quality standards are ensured by five wholly-owned production facilities: two in Germany, one each in France, the United States and China. In 2018, the Hansgrohe Group generated a turnover of EUR 1.081 billion. It employs more than 4,700 people worldwide, about 60 percent of whom work in Germany.