The Hansgrohe company history began in the year 1901: Back then, innovator Hans Grohe founded a craft business for metal-spun goods in the small Black Forest town of Schiltach. One of his specialties: Tin shower for the home bathroom, which was coming into style. In doing so, he laid the cornerstone for a success story that continues today.

On June 15, 1901, Hans Grohe (1871-1955) founded a craft business for metal-spun goods in the Schiltach, in the Kinzig valley – venturing to make a new start. The trained cloth-maker from Luckenwalde, near Berlin, had moved to the small town in the Black Forest two years before. He then turned his back on weaving and discovered the production of metal goods like brass pans, watch parts, and stovepipe rosettes. From the beginning, tin showers were part of the product range from Hans Grohe’s small, three-man operation. The innovator made the right choice: The private household bathroom came into fashion at the turn of the 20th century.

Back then, having one’s own bathroom was still a pure luxury for the population at large in Germany.Hans Grohe recognized the shower as an affordable alternative to the lavish process of bathing in a bath tub, and soon began specializing entirely in metal goods for the sanitation section. In the following decades, Hans Grohe was passionately dedicated to the further development of his showers. With his ideas, he was a crucial influence on Hansgrohe's company history and the future shower culture.