Press Release Hansgrohe inaugurates Technology Centre for plastics at the Offenburg plant We bolster our competitiveness Schiltach/Offenburg, January 29, 2016. Hansgrohe SE is increasing its innovative power in Offenburg. In the grounds of the Offenburg plant a new plastics technology centre has been created at a cost of 1.6 million Euros. The so-called Technikum was officially opened today in the presence of Frank Schnatz, Board member for Production and Quality Management of Hansgrohe SE, and Offenburg s mayor Edith Schreiner. With this new Technikum we concentrate our expertise in plastics within our company and thus extend the success story of Hansgrohe, says Frank Schnatz. The building was completed in just under 10 months. Over an area of about 1,150 square metres, 30 employees will test new methods in plastics technology as well as design, build, sample and maintain new plastic-injection moulding tools. Here we will ourselves be able to create very complex tools for plastic injection-moulding and do so in a fast, flexible way and in very high quality. Because it is so close to the Production area, this will result in significant process optimisation and thus strengthen our competitiveness, adds Frank Schnatz. Since the beginning of January, the entire plastics team have been working together with tool maintenance, plastic injection-moulding as well as plastic electroplating under one roof at the Offenburg plant. Hansgrohe s largest fittings and shower plant is located in Offenburg. For 25 years the manufacturer of sanitation products has been producing its range of showers with around 50 plastic injection-moulding machines. Several thousand showers leave the plant each day. In addition the
company produces shower hoses and plastic cartridges for fittings and thermostats here. Investments in the future In 2015 Hansgrohe has invested approximately 50 million Euros in its plants in Germany. Its biggest outlay is on the expansion of the Logistics Centre in Offenburg at a cost of 30 million Euros. This will be complete by the end of 2016. A new research and development laboratory was set up at company headquarters in Schiltach and is just being put into operation by the staff. We are firmly committed to our roots, adds Frank Schnatz. With this investment we will maintain our position as the leader in innovation in technology and design for fittings and showers in the future as well. About Hansgrohe the original from the Black Forest The Hansgrohe company is based in Schiltach in Germany s Black Forest. In its 115-year history, it has acquired a reputation as a leading innovator in technology, design and sustainability in the sanitation industry. The mixers, showerheads and shower systems created by Hansgrohe SE are original products that make bathrooms more functional, more comfortable and more aesthetically pleasing. These quality products can be found in such prestigious venues as the luxury ocean liner Queen Mary II, London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (the world s tallest building), the German Chancellery in Berlin, New York s Yoo luxury residences and the Masdar City Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi. The company and its products have been honoured with numerous awards, most recently the Red Dot, the Wallpaper* Design Award 2014 in the Category Best Shower and the Interior Innovation Award 2014 Best of Best. In 2014, the company s brands Axor, Hansgrohe, Pharo and Pontos generated more than EUR 874 million in sales (compared to EUR 841 million in 2013). Today the Hansgrohe Group employs more than 3,600 people worldwide, about onethird of whom work outside Germany. The company, which has a zero tolerance policy on counterfeit products and design infringements, manufactures its products in Germany, in France, the Netherlands, the USA and China.
Find out more about Hansgrohe SE and its brands on: www.facebook.com/axor.design www.twitter.com/hansgrohe_pr Design leader in the sanitation industry In the current ranking of the International Forum Design (if) of the world's best enterprises in the field of design, Hansgrohe SE is in 11th position among 2,000 companies. With a score of 740 points, the Schiltach-based bathroom mixers and shower specialist even outperforms such enterprises as Daimler, Volkswagen, and adidas and leads the design hit list in the sanitation industry. www.hansgrohe.com/design Weitere Informationen: Hansgrohe SE - Public Relations - Sven Renkel Tel.: +49 7836 51-1064 Fax: +49 7836 51-1064 E-Mail: public.relations@hansgrohe.com www.hansgrohe.com
Photographic overview Official opening of Hansgrohe Technikum in Offenburg on January 29, 2016 Hansgrohe_SE_Eroeffnung_Technikum_1 Official opening of the Technikum. From left: Volker Schebesta, member of the regional Legislative Assembly, Frank Semling, Board member of Hansgrohe SE, Frank Schnatz, Board member of Hansgrohe SE, Edith Schreiner, Mayor of the City of Offenburg, and Daniel Geiler, head of municipal council of Elgersweier. Hansgrohe_SE_Eroeffnung_Technikum_2 Frank Schnatz, Board member for Production and Quality Management of Hansgrohe SE. Hansgrohe_SE_Eroeffnung_Technikum_3 Edith Schreiner, Mayor of the City of Offenburg during the opening ceremony. Hansgrohe_SE_Eroeffnung_Technikum_4 With the new Technikum, Hansgrohe SE is concentrating its expertise in plastics in the Offenburg plant. Copyright: Hansgrohe SE
Hansgrohe_SE_Eroeffnung_Technikum_5 Interested guests: Volker Schebesta, member of the regional Legislative Assembly, talks to Frank Schnatz, Board member of Hansgrohe SE. Hansgrohe_SE_Eroeffnung_Technikum_6 Damir Kosanovic, head of Tool Technology Hansgrohe SE (r.), talks to Edith Schreiner, Mayor of the City of Offenburg, and Frank Semling, Board member of Hansgrohe SE. Hansgrohe_SE_Eroeffnung_Technikum_7 Damir Kosanovic, head of Tool Technology Hansgrohe SE, conducts a guided tour of the Technikum for government representatives and the media. Copyright: We must draw your attention to the fact that we have only limited usage rights for the images provided, all further rights however belong to the respective photographers. These images may therefore only be published free of charge if they clearly and expressly serve to portray or advertise the performances, products or projects of Hansgrohe SE and/or its brands (Axor, Hansgrohe, Pharo and Pontos). Any other form of publication requires the approval of the respective copyright owner and remuneration must be made in agreement with said copyright owner.