Both Hansgrohe and (Friedrich) Grohe are German companies; Friedrich was a son of Hans who went on his own in the 1930s, so they share a certain heritage. These days, Grohe is larger and no longer family owned. Both produce outside Germany as well as on their original German sites still. Both produce "basic" and "high-end" ranges. They're both regarded well back home in Germany, much of the choice is down to personal preference. Hansgrohe is on average slightly more expensive (but not on everything). They also own the Axor design brand which has a more "ecletic" selection. One can mix-and-match; in our bath (bit messy, sorry - we're using it for the washing up while waiting for the kitchen to be installed), the mixer is Grohe as is the shower wall outlet, the shower rail and head shower arm (just above the shower screen) are Hansgrohe pieces. At least the chromed finishes are very close for the two: Both can be sourced well below retail list prices - if you're prepared to wait, German online sellers for bathroom goods tend to have many-months delivery timelines. For Grohe essentials (the classical Grotherm mixers) at least, any German DIY shop stocks these at very attractive prices (the difference to the UK retail price list will pay for the ferry ticket and fuel).

Thanks a lot for your reply! What I am worried about is purely the quality. And if I get problems with my tray, it would be necessary to remove the shower cubicle, which I don't know if it will survive. So, probably a new cubicle and I am not sure if it is possible to remove the shower tray without breaking any tiles... What kind of problems am I afraid of ? Just google Hidrobox. Somebody was offering me the Hidrobox Neo tray. The reviews are devastating. It just gets cracks with time. A developer company is complaining, that in a new development with 20 flats where they have installed Hidrobox trays, 10 of them were defective :-( There are even photos of the defective trays. I have also ruled out 2-3 other brands because of similar negative reivews. I bought a Duplach shower tray. It is my mistake, as I didn't read everything. When they delivered it, the drain valve cover turned out to be made of sprayed metal. This is not a durable material! With time it will certainly get scratches and will be impacted by corrosion. I didn't feel like returning it, because it is quite heavy and bulky, so I suddenly had an an idea - I found a very similar model that has the drain valve cover made of stainless steel. So maybe I could just order a new cover of stainless steel and keep my tray! I e-mailed Duplach. They answered: we are not dealing with end Customers. Talk to the company that you bought it from. So, with this behavior they shot themselves in the knee. I will NEVER again buy another Duplach product. Instead that they would be passionate about their products and open to provide a qualified advice and consultation - no, we will not talk to you. Just bother anyone else with the problems you are experiencing with OUR products!! When I have a little time, I will make sure to write my google review about this company... Yes, I can get Duravit. But I read quite bad reviews about them, especially about toilets. And somebody wrote that Duravit is no longer in swiss hands. They had apparently been acquired by a turkish company or investor and they no longer care about the satisfaction of their Customers. The reviews are devastating. So, I would now summarize my options like this: 1) Zenon solid (Spain) 2) Hüppe (Germany) 3) Ercos (Italy) -> Ercos also makes heating. Their Customers are not happy with their hearing solutions, but I was not able to find even a single comment about their shower trays. 4) Acquabella (Spain) -> they are using their own material, called Akron. Many thanks for sharing your comments on my thoughts.

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I've looked at various german brands when i've been to kitchen trade shows and there are certain features about them that i like, for example their ergonomic design based on the height of the individual user, this is why you have 780 cabinets with various height plinths as these cater to the height of the individual user, they consider the optimal height for your worktop is 15cm below the height of your elbow bent at 90 degrees, so for someone whose 180cm tall, you may need a 95cm worktop height but if you're 160cm tall then you have a 90cm worktop height. They also tend to work on a 125mm to 130mm drawer size matrix and the big manufacturers will buy/make their doors in these combinations [ie schuller who have 3 different cabinet heights] and various plinth heights. Here in the uk we limit ourselves to 720/730 heights and 150/160 plinths mainly. We also limit our cabinet depths to suit 600 deep worktops which not all german kitchen do, again this is a waste of space as if you have a quartz worktop the depth of this is much more flexable as its templated to suit the required depth, Another feature is the size of the void at the back of the cabinet, a uk kitchen will have a 40 to 50mm void for pipework whether you need it or not, again another waste of space, this also resticts the depth of the drawers to only 450 deep, whereas with a 20-30mm void you could have deeper 500mm drawers which is popular with higher end german kitchens. Looking at the construction of the cabinets, the german kitchens do say that they are made of a 'higher' density particle board [chipboard] and 19mm thick, in the uk though we use a lot of chipboard [to various density] with the most popular being from egger, this can come in a much wider range of colours/woodgrains than i've seen offered by any german manufacturer, i also think the construction of the backboard is important, having a thin hardboard back panel, slotted in a groove and stapled doesn't offer any structural strength, it doesn't guarentee the cabinet is square, you can't fix a back box to it for a socket and overtime i've seen these start to bow and fall out [tall larders], a sold 18mm backboard will keep the cabinet rigid and square, prevent the unit from twisting and racking so when you come to fit the doors these will be all level and in line. I get all my cabinets made to order and made from 18mm egger board including the backs, with the limiting factor being the doors i can get, for me to make cabinets at 780 tall instead of 720 would incurr a small surcharge per unit, to make them extra deep wouldn't be a problem, made with a 20mm void not a problem, 500mm deep legrabox comes as standard from my carcase supplier, true handleless isn't a problem, i also tend to only have the handle rail at the top only, i don't really like the mid rails on the drawers and instead offer 'tip on' push to open lower drawers but thats up to the client. Any wireworks can be prefitted at the factory for you and can be supplied by any of the quality manufacturers [kessebohmer or vauth sagel]. For doors, if you opt for something like fenix, this is supplied as a laminate sheet which is then bonded to a substrata, this can be anything like mdf [so it would need to be edged] or something like birch ply and the edge is polished up and lacquered/stained, looks really smart. These are all pretty easy to do, not overly complicated to design and depending on the size of the kitchen a lot less than 40k, for me to do this i've come out with fenix doors a bit more than a top price wren kitchen. if you have something like a Serica [supermatt 18mm mdf edged door] or acrylic faced door then it would be cheaper. If you want to discuss further your kitchen requirements feel free to contact me as what you describe you want from your kitchen is something that I could easily supply.