When the highest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa – named Burj Dubai while under construction – was officially opened on January 4 in Dubai, Hansgrohe AG (www.hansgrohe.com) from Schiltach in the Black Forest also joined in the celebrations. The reason: the German bathroom fittings and shower manufacturer supplied more than 5,000 fittings for the 828-metre skyscraper, designed and built by the American architect Adrian Smith and located on Shaik Zayed Road in the heart of the Gulf metropolis.
The wash basin mixers from the Axor Starck luxury collection were made in the mixer manufacturing plant in Schiltach owned by the international company, which has been operating its own subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates for years. “Hansgrohe was given a great deal of credit for not pulling out of the market in the face of the economic crisis, unlike other companies,” says Siegfried Gänßlen, chairman of the management board of Hansgrohe AG, in explaining the continuing success of the bathroom and sanitation specialist in the Middle East.
Orders such as the supply contract for prestigious projects like the “Tower of Khalifa” – the English translation of “Burj Khalifa” – show that in the competitive project business in this region, principals and property developers as well as architects and interior designers rely on the strength of German innovation, on high-quality products “Made in Germany” and on working with dependable partners. “This is why we were able to acquire numerous projects in the United Arab Emirates even during the crisis year of 2009, such as the ones in Masdar City along the new Formula 1 track in Abu Dhabi,” says Gänßlen. “We anticipate further great potential in this region, and consequently Hansgrohe will be opening a new subsidiary in Abu Dhabi later this month, as well as a new flagship store in Dubai – not far from the Burj Khalifa.”