In collaboration with The Sharjah Department of Economic Development

United Arab Emirates, Dubai, November 29, 2011 - Under the patronage of Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD), GROHE, the leading manufacturer of premium sanitary fittings, joined forces with Saba & Co. IP, a law firm specialized in Intellectual Property management and protection, to destroy tens of thousands of counterfeit sanitary products in Sharjah.

Since the beginning of 2011, GROHE, Saba & Co. IP and SEDD managed to lead and conduct several raids in the Emirate of Sharjah. These raids resulted in confiscating over 21,000 counterfeit products in April 2011 and over 2,000 counterfeit products in September 2011. The latest raid was conducted against a trader's warehouse in industrial area 3. All confiscated products were destroyed and later taken to a local recycling plant.

Selim Semaan, GROHE Regional Marketing Director, said: "As part of GROHE's ongoing dedication to providing its best in class products to its customers, we decided to track down and destroy counterfeit products in the market. This comes with immense support from Sharjah Economic Development Department ensuring that our customers in the UAE receive the best original sanitary fittings from GROHE."

GROHE spares no expense in protecting its Intellectual Property Rights and conducts regular surveys to scan markets for suspected operations that deal with counterfeit products with legal action being taken against them. In the UAE for example, GROHE has conducted numerous training sessions for customs officials to provide helpful tools in identifying counterfeit operations, raiding the premises, seizing and destroying the goods.

The partnership between GROHE and Saba & Co. IP was established in 2009. The collaboration started by conducting investigations into different targets suspected of being importers and main traders of fake products.

-Ends-

About GROHE:
Grohe AG is the world's leading premium brand of sanitary fittings. As a global brand for sanitary products and systems, GROHE sets standards in quality, design, technology and sustainability, providing water to perfection.

With its headquarters in Hemer and Corporate Center in Düsseldorf, the company currently employs some 5,000 people worldwide, including 2,300 in Germany. In 2010, the company's kitchen and bathroom fittings and showers, automatic fittings for the commercial and contract sectors, and installation and flushing systems generated sales of EUR 980 million (unaudited figure).

GROHE has six production plants, of which three are located outside Germany, namely in Portugal, Thailand and Canada. The company currently generates 82 % of its sales outside Germany.

GROHE Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East & Africa
PO Box 27048
CY-1641, Nicosia, Cyprus
Internet: www.grohe.com
Media contact: Memac Ogilvy Public Relations
Point of contact: Melanie Schmutz
Phone: +971 50 7706 714   E-mail: melanie.schmutz@ogilvy.com

© Press Release 2011