About Laufen

Founded in 1892 in Switzerland, LAUFEN has become one of the world's leading companies for sanitary ceramics. Today LAUFEN Bathrooms provided integrated bathroom concepts with high quality products, ranging from sanitary ceramics to bathtubs and shower trays, furniture, faucets and accessories. LAUFEN have offices located throughout the world and a Global Projects team to support cross country projects.

History

FROM LOCAL COMPANY TO GLOBAL PLAYER

LAUFEN's headquarters are located in Laufen near Basel, Switzerland. LAUFEN has additional production sites in Austria and the Czech Republic. Steeped in tradition yet ultra-modern, LAUFEN's production plants make over three million ceramic products annually, and distribute these via a worldwide network of retail outlets and sales partners.

Since 1999, LAUFEN has been one of the world's largest bathroom manufacturers in the ROCA Group, which has over 20,000 employees in over 135 countries and produces 38 million ceramic products annually. Similor Group AG, one of the leading companies in the production of faucets with a manufacturing tradition which goes back more than 150 years, has belonged to the group since 2007.   

CONTINUED GROWTH AND SUCCESS

When LAUFEN was founded in Switzerland in 1892, sanitary conditions were well below today's modern standards. Many of these improved standards are due in part to the innovations and contributions of LAUFEN, the only sanitary porcelain manufacturer producing exclusively in Europe at the time. 

LAUFEN's history goes back even further. Around 1878, the pioneer of the mechanized production of sanitary ceramics was located in a factory belonging to the Austrian monarchy. This factory contributed to the well-established situation of the various European manufacturing sites in LAUFEN's home markets of Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic, which helped lay the foundation of LAUFEN's quality. Since its earliest days, the mission of LAUFEN has remained the same -- to be a leader in technology, service and design. In the 1980s, the most efficient injection molding technology in the field of ceramics processing was invented by LAUFEN. This was a breakthrough that constituted a lasting contribution to industrial production. Just as important for LAUFEN is its continuing developments in the field of design. Wall-hung toilets and floor-standing washbasins, for instance, have made a new aesthetic possible.

LAUFEN has now widened its expertise and its portfolio of ceramics, bathtubs, furniture and accessories by adding faucets to the product range. In 1854, Charles Kugler founded a small company for brass products in Lausanne. Faucets have been manufactured by LAUFEN since 2009.