We started our second day with Hansgrohe back at the Aquademie where we were greeted by Gregory Crouzeix and taken on a tour of the Hansgrohe museum. The museum is a fascinating place with two long walls which chart the history of the Grohe family placing its milestones in a contextual framework of other local and worldwide events.
Hansgrohe has also collected the materials to set up a representation of early plumber’s workshops through the ages showcasing the types of tools they would have worked with as well as what materials would have been available and the breadth of work that would have been covered.
Along the opposite wall is a walk-through set up where you can quite literally walk through the bathrooms of the ages. Starting with the most basic outhouses and crude washbaths in the early 1900s, as we stepped through each door we were able to experience each decade and immerse ourselves in the evolution of the bathroom.
We then stepped inside Hansgrohe’s movie theatre to watch a short film that pays homage to the incredible technology and precision required to produce the company’s range of products across both the Hansgrohe and Axor brands.
From the darkness of the movie theatre we stepped outside to the bright sunshine for a guided walk around the town of Schiltach, the home of Hansgrohe. Schiltach is located in a valley and so the roads around the town are steep and cobbled and rich with history. We were shown the oldest house in Schiltach which dates from 1590. Unfortunately Schiltach was prone to fires and three times in the 1500s the town was razed to the ground and had to be rebuilt.
We very much enjoyed our tour with our very knowledgeable guide and returned to the Aquademie for a tour of the LoftCube. LoftCube is a design intended for a mobile, flexible lifestyle and is a home you can, literally, take with you when you move. It incorporates a number of innovative design ideas for multi-functional living and is available in three sizes.
Following our lunch, we boarded the bus for our journey to Hansgrohe’s factory in Offenburg. Here is where the shower heads and hoses are produced and we were taken around two factories to see the assembly and packing process as well as the electroplating process. We even were allowed a quick look at the new logistics centres which has just been built and is in the last stages of testing before it becomes operational. The shower hose factory was a revelation – we had no idea there were so many layers required or such technical precision needed to produce what seems like such a simple part of the whole shower fitting.
Our day was not yet complete as we drove around 30 minutes to Durbach and arrived at a spectacular winery for a Segway tour around this amazing location. For the next one-and-a-half hours we rode our Segways through the vines and around the town, marvelling at the incredible vistas. Exhausted but elated, we returned the Segways and were treated to a barbecue dinner at the winery restaurant along with the opportunity to taste some of the very good local wines.
Reluctantly we bid Gregory goodbye at the end of the night and thanked him for his hospitality and this truly eye-opening chance to see a bit more behind the scenes of Hansgrohe and learn about the company history and culture.
For more information visit www.hansgrohe.com.au
