Hansgrohe is Europe’s largest manufacturer of shower and bathroom products. In its centenary year 2001, more than 2,400 people were employed by the Hansgrohe Group, a quarter of them outside the home country Germany. Hansgrohe now manufactures at five sites in Germany, with further plants in France, Holland, the USA, China and Poland. With almost 20 subsidiaries, the company not only has a presence in the European market but also its own sales organisations in the USA, the Middle East, Singapore and China.

Hansgrohe was keen to raise awareness of inclusive design issues within the industry and ally this approach to its existing design. Hansgrohe’s interest in partnering the RCA project stemmed from its desire to explore the challenges faced by older users in the bathroom and to create mainstream concepts that demonstrably and practically met their needs and requirements.