What does the term ‘Swissness’ bring to mind? Legendary precision? Exquisite design? Highest quality? All these adjectives and more can be applied to the sanitaryware designed and manufactured by Laufen, which has been utilising the oldest malleable material available to make its products for over 125 years. 

At a recent intimate dinner, a group of Melbourne-based designers were invited to hear the story of Laufen, how it was established as a producer of earthenware by Albert Borer, Johann Spillmann and Joseph Gerseter-Roth in July 1892, before launching into the world of sanitaryware in 1925, making this year a special centenary for the brand.

The designers heard how, as a family-owned company, Laufen has expanded from those early days to now be represented in more than 120 countries, while its products are still exclusively manufactured in central Europe, and how its core aims of leading in the areas of technology, service and design have not changed since its foundation all those years ago. 

Along with another key global brand, Roca, Laufen is part of the Roca Group, a company that now sits as the largest sanitaryware manufacturer in the world – producing over 35 million pieces every year. 

In 2025 Laufen’s distinguishing characteristics can be summed up in four pillars:

• Innovation
• Design
• Quality
• Swissness

Innovation 

When you’ve been a leading manufacturer of sanitaryware for a century, you know the importance of always keeping ahead of the competition. For Laufen this means staying at the forefront by developing, adapting and utilising modern technology in its processes and materials. It was way back in 1964 that Laufen invented the wall hung toilet, an innovation that still feels ahead of its time over 60 years later. 

More recently, it introduced the groundbreaking material SaphirKeramik, the extraordinary properties of which mean it’s possible to design sanitaryware that is remarkably thin but, as it is twice as rigid as vitreous china, retains its robustness and resilience. 

And just six years ago, Laufen launched the world’s first full-functioning urine-separation toilet, enabling valuable raw materials like phosphorus and nitrogen to be extracted, rather than wasted in the sewage system.

Design 

Applying that innovation to its design approach and building long-term relationships with globally respected and accomplished designers, such as Patricia Urquiola, Marcel Wanders, David Chipperfield, Konstantin Grcic, Toan Nguyen, Herzog and De Meuron, and Stephano Giovanonni for Alessi, ensures the end products are truly exceptional – durable, beautifully finished and award-winning.

Quality

The finest craftsmanship requires the human touch. Laufen’s products are the antithesis of mass produced conveyor built creations. And that personal attention to detail is the difference between a good piece and a truly excellent one.

Swissness

Back to where we came in… Swissness is the overarching term for a suite of products that are the very embodiment of Laufen’s raison d’être – establishing and maintaining a culture of value and consistency that stretches all the way back to 1892.

Find out more at Laufen.