In spite of the difficult business climate internationally, highly respected German tapware, shower and fittings specialist Hansgrohe has recently set up its own distribution and marketing office in Australia.

As any visitor to ISH exhibitions in Frankfurt will attest, Hansgrohe is one of the world’s great bathroom brands and a recognised innovator.

One of its more recent innovation successes is its air power technology that mixes water and air in showerheads. In fact the company has been working on reduced-flow shower technology for over 20 years.

Introduced in 2001, the ibox universal is still the first and only universal basic set for all standard and thermostat solutions. It can be connected to several different attachments and is easy to install.

With the ibox universal, Hansgrohe offers a flexible concealed installation system which allows a basic unit built into the wall to be connected to various different faucet finish sets.

Dr Nicholas Matten is the sales director for Western Asia, Japan and Oceania, the managing director Hansgrohe India and is the manager for Oceania. He explains that the ibox is a central water connection hub for in-wall installation.

“A concealed installation will provide you with more space in a small bathroom, because flush mounting means a less intrusive finish, leaving more room to move around. Also, the aesthetics are much better than exposed mixers, as the technical parts remain concealed.”

The ibox offers simplicity, diversity and ease of installation for the plumber and maximum finish options for the consumer.

The product came to be as Klaus Grohe, the son of founder Hans Grohe, saw the need for a universal in-wall unit which would make it easy for plumbers to install various shower and bath options.

“Klaus is always driven by innovations that add value to the customer and are not just for innovation’s sake, as is too often the case,” Dr Matten says.

The ibox, which has now been released in Australia, faced some resistance at first due to the 150mm face plate. However, Australians are now starting to warm to the product, appreciating the European design and functionality.

“The unique property of ibox is that a wide variety of finish sets, both Hansgrohe and Axor, fit on to the ibox universal so bathroom finishes can easily be replaced, changed or upgraded over time as bathroom trends evolve,” Dr Matten explains.

“Also it is technically a far superior solution to many competitive offerings, as it has lower noise levels and provides for optimum protection against any water leaks.”

The uptake of the ibox universal is starting to gain traction and has been specified for a range of building projects including the Aquavita apartments in Port Melbourne, the Tribeca apartments in East Melbourne, Yoo apartments in Sydney and the Hilton Hotel Sydney.

Builders and plumbers are finding the simplicity of the design provides many advantages.

“You only need to keep one concealed installation basic set in stock,” Dr Matten says. “There is one basic set for nine different functional solutions and one basic set for all Axor and Hansgrohe faucet lines. One basic set fits all installation systems, connection types and fittings.

“The valuable finish set, which contains all functional parts, is fixed at the last moment, protecting the builder from any damage due to dirty piping or theft during construction.

While it is easy to install, homeowners also reap the rewards as they can decide at the last moment whether to have a shower mixer, thermostat or shower panel installed in the shower. This is because the basic and functional units can be purchased, installed and mounted separately from one another.

“Planning certainty is an added benefit in addition to design and functional variety.”

The ibox universal prevents in-wall leakage and is soundproof. ibox is simple to install and requires no special training as housing usually has ample fixation points that can be used in solid brick, dry wall and timber constructions. Due to ibox’s flexibility, fittings can be upgraded easily without replumbing so bathrooms can be upgraded with the latest water efficient products as technology develops over time. Hansgrohe’s offerings also cater to water saving needs with their EcoSmart technology.

The ibox is now just one of a wide-range of WELS compliant products made available in Australia by this family-owned company with a 100-plus year engineering pedigree.

With Australia’s focus on water-saving/re-use, the other area of product interest is with the Hansgrohe Pontos grey water recycling system; a personal journey of interest and commitment for recently retired company chairman Klaus Grohe.

t ISH 2009, Hansgrohe revealed an advanced hybrid system, the Pontos AquaCycle Plus, which is currently under trial. This integrated solution provides both water and heat recycling.

The Pontos AquaCycle system purifies the wastewater from shower and bath tub, using a purely biological-mechanical process. The outcome is hygienic, purified clear water which can be used a second time, for flushing the toilet, running the washing machine, cleaning the house or irrigating the lawns.

“It makes sense ecologically and economically, since both drinking water consumption and waste water volume can be reduced by 50% whether in a private household or a large public building,” Dr Matten says.

Hansgrohe is currently examining Australian codes to discover whether they can use the systems as they are or if any additional engineering to the units might be required. Depending on the results of the analysis, the company will decide when to launch Pontos in Australia.

“We believe the standard technology can work well in this market,” Dr Matten says.

“We have already gathered a lot of field experience with Pontos in dry climates such as Spain and Jordan and are very much encouraged by the results so far. Australian plumbing codes might be a barrier to overcome, but this is still under investigation.”

Hansgrohe is currently releasing a wide range of new products including their World of Styles range featuring a variety of bathroom shower and mixer solutions in three design stories (Style, Elegance and Classic) and in different price categories.

This will lead to one of the widest product ranges with European design in Australia.

Included in the roll out is the award winning Crometta 85 Green 6L/min shower, one of the heroes of the company’s EcoSmart range.

From Axor, the designer bathroom range, Hansgrohe is releasing the Axor Starck Shower Collection and Axor Citterio M which are both new products to the Australian market.

Products currently available to consumers and builders are distributed through Reece, Tradelink and Bathe. Whereas Reece and Tradelink are predominantly selling Hansgrohe through their own networks, Bathe supplies both the Hansgrohe and Axor ranges to the independent bathroom and kitchen retail specialists.

These channels give Hansgrohe access to over 600 stores Australia wide.

As the roll out increases Hansgrohe will also be working with distributors to assist plumbers in gaining hands on experience working with installation. These tutorials will include the ibox Universal.