Latest Water Technologies of Abengoa Water - GineersNow GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue No. 022, Abe | Page 21

“The company”s nearly 4,800 highly motivated
and tremendously dedicated employees
around the world have once again proven that
the Hansgrohe Group is an industry leader,”
said Thorsten Klapproth. “In the 2016 financial
year, we succeeded in growing extremely
profitably and faster than the market in all sales
regions. This demonstrates the trust our clients
and customers place in our promise to deliver
quality, innovation and design.”
Successful at Home and
Worldwide
The domestic market was particularly dynamic
with an increase of 8.8 percent. Germany, still
the most important single market, contributed
substantially to the company”s positive overall
performance. The Hansgrohe Group generated
nearly 80 percent of its revenue outside
Germany in 2016, supplying products to more
than 140 countries. In the past financial year,
the global player continued to successfully
pursue its profitable strategy of focussing
on regions in Europe with very strong
performance, as well as large growth regions
around the world. In 2016, about 60 percent of
the company”s overall sales were generated
in Europe and 40 percent in the rest of the
world. Sales growth in China was particularly
strong. The 14.3 percent increase in sales was
considerably higher than growth in the market
sector and the country”s economy. A boom in
the construction of 3-star and 4-star-hotels,
as well as a growing middle class means that
the project business in the Far East offers
enormous opportunities for the AXOR and
hansgrohe brands.
Investing in the Future
The future needs a past,” Thorsten Klapproth
emphasises. “We need deep roots to succeed
internationally. In the long term, strategic
investments in our German sites amounting to
EUR 42.9 million will secure our competitive
edge on the global market.” The EUR 48.7
million invested during the 2016 financial year
was financed entirely from cash flow. The
Hansgrohe Group invested some EUR 30
million to expand its global logistics centre
at the Offenburg site. Significantly higher
capacities and the latest in digital technologies
enable the company to respond faster and
better to the most diverse customer needs
worldwide and to strengthen international
sales in the long term. Another EUR 1.7 million
were invested in the Technikum to consolidate
the company”s expertise in plastics at its
Offenburg site; the new plastics technology
centre was inaugurated in January 2016. By
investing EUR 4.6 million in a new research and
development laboratory at its headquarters in
Schiltach, the Hansgrohe Group established a
solid foundation for future innovation.
Employees – a Key to Success
A key element in the sustained and successful
growth rate of the Hansgrohe Group is its
staff. Around the world, 4,785 people work
for the mixer and shower specialist from the
Black Forest, of which roughly 60 percent are
employed in Germany. With 43 new trainees
in 2016, the number of trainees within the
workforce remained at a substantial 6.3
percent.
Ambitious Goals
“With a profitable growth of 6.7 percent, we
achieved a record turnover of EUR 1.029
billion and at the same time, paved the way for
continued success,” says Thorsten Klapproth.
“In future, the AXOR and hansgrohe brands
will be present in their respective luxury and
premium market segments with very clearly
defined profiles. Our bathroom and kitchen
products were among the most innovative.
This is also true when it comes to design:
in 2016 we not only left famous brands and
manufacturers such as Apple and Daimler in
the iF Company Ranking behind us, but also
remained the only company in the sanitary
industry with a Top Ten position. Therefore we
want to be the number one choice of trade
partners as well as consumers.”
Water Leaders • June 2017
19