On Jan. 3, 2026, Klaus Grohe, the long-standing head of the company, passed away at the age of 88. The youngest and third son of company founder Hans Grohe was born on April 3, 1937, in Aachen, Germany. After studying business and economics in Bern, Switzerland, and completing numerous internships, he joined his father’s company in 1968 as authorized signatory and head of sales.
For nearly five decades, Klaus Grohe shaped the destiny of the Schiltach-based company — first as managing partner, then from 1999 as chairman of the executive board, and from 2008 to 2015 as chairman of the supervisory board.
With his visionary ideas, tireless drive and unwavering customer focus, he transformed the family business into a global player in the sanitary industry. Innovative products with outstanding design were his particular passion. He loved perfecting showers and faucets down to the smallest detail.
At the same time, he understood that high-quality products must be marketed effectively, including internationally, and as early as the 1980s, he integrated professional marketing into the company. With his foresight, openness to the world, and pragmatic approach, he paved the way for the brands AXOR and Hansgrohe.
His guiding principle was: “Always hands-on — being close to the customer, close to the product, close to the employee, both in administration and in production.”
As a hands-on leader, Klaus Grohe consistently renounced privileges. As early as the 1980s, long before sustainability became a buzzword, he championed environmentally conscious thinking and action. Hansgrohe appointed an environmental officer, developed water-saving showers, and built a solar tower and roof-integrated solar power plant at its Offenburg site, along with a roof-integrated solar power system, which was awarded the Baden-Württemberg Environmental Prize in 1994.
Throughout his life, Klaus Grohe dedicated himself to the well-being of Hansgrohe, his family and society at large. In 2001, his hometown Schiltach made him an honorary citizen. In 2009, he established the Klaus Grohe Foundation. In 2012, he was recognized for his lifetime achievements as an entrepreneur and innovator in the sanitary industry, receiving the Best of Management Award from the trade magazine Si Informationen at the SHK Essen trade fair. In 2022, he was awarded the German Founders Award for lifetime achievements by Stern, Sparkassen, ZDF and Porsche, one of the most prestigious business awards in Germany.
“With Klaus Grohe, we are losing a pioneer who, until the very end, followed Hansgrohe’s development with great interest and commitment as honorary chairman of our supervisory board,” said Hans Jürgen Kalmbach, chairman of the executive board of Hansgrohe SE. “He laid the foundation for the global success of our group and decisively shaped Hansgrohe’s DNA. We are deeply grateful to him and will miss his advice and guidance. His principles and his passion for Hansgrohe will remain forever embedded in the company and in all our minds. All employees, the executive board, the supervisory board and our shareholder Masco mourn his passing and extend their heartfelt condolences to his family.”
Richard Grohe, eldest son of Klaus Grohe, member of the supervisory board of Hansgrohe SE and managing director of Syngroh Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, added: “Klaus leaves behind a human and entrepreneurial legacy of immeasurable depth. When he took over the leadership of Hansgrohe in 1975, he reinvented the family business from the ground up and transformed it into a company of a scale no one could have imagined at the time. In doing so, he brought prosperity not only to the region but to many other places around the world.
“He built a large family and successfully taught us how to keep it together — across personalities, generations and borders. Integrity and values were not only principles he lived by but also passed on. His inspiration and entrepreneurial achievements will endure for generations. We accept his legacy and commit to preserving it.”
As a gesture of sympathy, donations can be made to the Klaus Grohe Foundation.
