Germany. It’s the land of Schnitzel and gravy, of Lederhosen and Angela Merkel. It’s the land where no matter how kind you are, the children will always be Kinder. Are you looking to buy a faucet that was made in Germany? If so, you’re in luck! There are a number of companies that produce faucets in the European Union’s most populous country. In this article, I’m going to explore each of the companies for you.
Which Companies Sell Faucets Made in Germany (The Short Answer)
After combing google I found 5 different brands that still produce Faucets in Germany. Those are Decor Walther, Dornbracht, GROHE, Hansgrohe, Steinberg, and WASSERWERK. They all utilize German craftsmanship and there are plenty of options below to fit whatever you need.
German-Made Faucets (5 Brands to Choose From)
It took some digging, but I was able to find five businesses that manufacture their faucets in Germany. I was a little bit surprised! I suppose maybe I shouldn’t have been—after all, Germany is densely populated, and it’s well known that manufacturing forms the backbone of its economy—but I was. Five businesses. Five brands. Let’s take a look!
Dornbracht
Dornbracht Deutschland, GmbH & Co. is younger than some of the other companies I write about—they were founded in 1950. The company is currently headquartered in Iserlohn, Germany. Today, it manufactures an array of kitchen sinks and faucets, kitchen interior models, and various accessories for your bedroom. The firm boasts an annual revenue of $214 Million.
Dornbracht is extremely active in the international market. You can find its kitchen faucets being sold in 125 different markets across the globe, including in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The company is known for its high-quality standards and use of innovative technology.
Despite its large global presence, it is possible to find kitchen faucets produced by Dornbracht which have the “Made in Germany” label. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any information about where the company houses its manufacturing operations. However, if you choose to buy from this company, I recommend finding products that are specifically labeled as being manufactured in Germany.
Dornbracht produces special kitchen faucets which create both laminar and spray flow types. For the layperson, a “laminar” flow type means the water flows smoothly. The water is not aerated or otherwise disturbed.
On the other hand, a “spray” flow type…well, it sprays! Examples of faucets that Dornbracht produces which allow both flow types include the SYNC collections and models. You can also purchase faucets in a variety of different finishes, including platinum or dark platinum matte, platinum, brushed durabrass, and polished chrome. There’s something for everyone here!
Dornbracht makes faucets to fit every need but in a post-Covid world, the staff have been making a lot more motion-sensing touchless faucets. Once the temperature is set on a small dial then you never have to touch the faucet again.
GROHE
Founded in 1936, GROHE is one of the premier brands for bathroom and kitchen fittings in the world. It has a size to match: GROHE employs more than 7,000 people in 150 countries. Of this workforce, approximately 2,600 are based in Germany. The company has an estimated annual revenue of €1.35 Billion and is currently headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany.
One of the things I love about GROHE is the company’s commitment to environmentalism. You certainly don’t see enough of that in the world. While there’s always room for improvement, I like that GROHE has committed to using plastic-free product packaging by 2021. The directors have also had a CO2-neutral business model since April 2020.
GROHE has definitely made its mark on the bath and kitchen industry. Staff have won a tremendous amount of design and innovation awards. In fact, they have won more than 490 design and innovation awards in the past ten years alone, certainly no small feat—and that’s in addition to several additional sustainability awards.
GROHE was also the first company in the kitchen and bath industry to win the CSR Award of the German Federal Government, as well as the German Sustainability Award 2021. It has been named one of the “50 Sustainability & Climate Leaders”.
GROHE is known for its modern minimalism and the firm’s faucets speak to that aesthetic. They may not be touchless (yet) but there are none of the old knobs and curves that many of us grew up with.
Hansgrohe
Hansgrohe (not to be confused with GROHE!) was founded in 1901 by Hans Grohe. If you’re wondering why Hansgrohe and GROHE have such similar names, you might be surprised to learn that it’s not a coincidence!
The latter company began its history as Berkenhoff & Paschedag but was purchased by Hans Grohe’s son, Friedrich Grohe, in 1936. The similarity in the two companies’ names comes from the fact that they were each owned by members of the same family!
Hansgrohe remained a family-owned company until 2002. It was at that time that a majority of the company’s shares were purchased by Masco. Masco, if you are unfamiliar with the name, is an absolutely enormous company. Even if you haven’t heard of it, you’ve certainly heard of some of the companies Masco owns—Delta Faucet is a notable example.
Hansgrohe sells two lines of faucets. Its luxury brand is Axor, and this is the brand that is still (mostly) manufactured in Germany. The company’s other line of faucets, “Hansgrohe”, is assembled in Germany but not produced there. For the production of the Axor line of faucets (and assembly of the Hansgrohe line), Hansgrohe operates six factories in Germany. The parts for the Hansgrohe line are manufactured in China and Taiwan.
Hansgrohe is a powerful German name but since their Axor line is the only line guaranteed to be manufactured and assembled in Germany, I chose to only share models from that line. The two models that I chose are both minimal in their style but that makes them some of the most striking faucets that you have likely ever seen.
AXOR ONE Basin mixer Select 170
AXOR CITTERIO Single lever basin mixer 160
Steinberg
Steinberg was founded in 2002. Its specialty is in manufacturing faucets, rain showers, and other assorted bathroom accessories. In total, the company’s portfolio includes 13 faucet series, 4 accessories series, and a single rain shower series.
Steinberg’s products have won a number of design awards, and the company has been known to commission high-end product designers such as Jochen Schmiddem and Michael Schneider when designing new product lines. Steinberg opened a new factory in 2016 dedicated specifically to the production of high-end faucets.
One of the nicer things about this company is that it uses high-grade recyclable brass in its faucets. I’m always happy to see companies take steps to be more environmentally friendly.
For high-end applications that are installed by trained professionals, Steinberg offers concealed installation kits to minimize the visual impact of its faucets even below the counter. Steinberg does not have a long history so instead, it is embracing the future. Many of the company’s faucets would not be out of place in Star Trek so those are of course the models that I have listed below.
WASSERWERK
Wilhelm Kirchhoff oHG was founded in 1922 by Paul and Helmut Kirchhoff. It was originally a small enterprise dedicated exclusively to producing coat hooks and coat racks. In 1945, the company began manufacturing bathroom sanitation equipment in Iserlohn, Germany.
In 2011, the company was renamed W. Kirchhoff GmbH and was integrated into the SCHÜTTE Group in Wallenhorst, Germany. The company was subsequently moved to that town, and it is in this town that all of its faucets are produced.
That brings us to the modern day—in 2021, W. Kirchhoff GmbH launched WASSERWERK. It’s a bit hard to tell, but as far as I can see, WASSERWERK isn’t its own company, but rather is a production facility which the products are named after. I am not quite sure why but this is the system that they have chosen to go with. The facility is located in northern Germany.
The company’s website promises that soon they will start rolling out a line of bathroom faucets but for now kitchen faucets will simply have to do. It makes great streamline “middle-of-the-market” faucets that will not hurt your budget and still come with cool features like pull-out hoses to make rinsing or filling pots much easier. Both of the models listed below have the pull-out hose feature.
