August 18, 2014

With the donation for the flood victims in Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, Hansgrohe SE primarily wanted to provide fast, unbureaucratic help. Pictured is Frank Semling, member of the board at Hansgrohe SE, who was in charge of the campaign.

It has been the worst flooding in the Balkans since weather recording began, taking dozens of lives and leaving entire towns uninhabitable: after the biggest floods of the century hit Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia in mid-May, the situation is still dramatic. Mud and rubbish have been cleared from the streets and reconstruction measures for destroyed buildings have begun.Hansgrohe SE, the sanitation specialist from the Black Forest region in Germany, provides practical help to people in the region: during the past weeks, 1,000 bathroom mixers were delivered to the crisis area where they are distributed to the affected private households by aid organizations, such as the Red Cross or central coordination bodies.

Frank Semling, member of the board at Hansgrohe SE, was in charge of the donation campaign together with Dirk Rennau, Area Sales Manager Southeastern Europe at Hansgrohe SE. "The news about the flooding has affected us strongly. Hansgrohe has had ties to the region for many years - not in the least because we have our own employees there. They have given us first hand reports of how badly people are affected by the disaster," explains Frank Semling. And Dirk Rennau adds: "It was important for us to provide quick and unbureaucratic help with our own products. We had our faucets delivered directly to Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia with trucks. That means they were immediately available for reconstruction work and could be installed on short notice."

New bathrooms ensure hygienic conditions
Once the water recedes, flooded areas often see outbreaks of diseases such as typhoid. The Balkans are also affected by this hazard after the flood disaster. One of the objectives of the aid organizations is therefore to improve the hygienic conditions for the numerous victims. "This also includes providing people with fully functioning bathrooms again. With our mixers for wash basins and showers, we help people to cover at least part of the costs for equipping their new bathrooms," Frank Semling explains.

With the donation for the flood victims in Croatia, Hansgrohe SE primarily wanted to provide fast, unbureaucratic help. The German-based company supports people in the region with 1,000 bathroom mixers, which over the last weeks were delivered by trucks to the disaster area, where they are distributed to affected private households by aid organizations such as the Red Cross. The picture shows Frank Semling, member of the board at Hansgrohe SE, who was in charge of the donation campaign.

About Hansgrohe - the original from the Black Forest
The Hansgrohe company is based in Schiltach in Germany's Black Forest. In its 113-year history, it has acquired a reputation as a leading innovator in technology, design and sustainability in the sanitation sector. The mixers, showerheads and shower systems created by Hansgrohe SE are original products that make bathrooms more functional, more comfortable and more aesthetically pleasing. These quality products can be found in such prestigious venues as the luxury ocean liner Queen Mary II, London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (the world's tallest building), the German Chancellery in Berlin, New York's Yoo luxury residences and the Masdar City Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi. The company and its products have been honoured with numerous awards, most recently the Red Dot "Best of the Best" Award for product design, the Architects' Darling Award 2013 in the Sanitary Fittings category and the 2013 Successful Design Awards China. In 2013, the company's brands Axor, Hansgrohe, Pharo and Pontos generated more than EUR 841 million in sales (compared to EUR 805 million in 2012). Today the Hansgrohe Group employs more than 3,500 people worldwide, about one-third of whom work outside Germany. The company, which has a zero tolerance policy on counterfeit products and design infringements, manufactures its products in six German plants, as well as in France, the Netherlands, the USA and China.

distributed by