German plumbing giant Grohe has revealed a 7% rise in sales for the first half of 2011.

Sales revenues were up by €32 million (£29m) in first half of 2011 to €522m (£454m).

The company generated consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €100 million, up 3% on the same period in 2010 year

As the healthy 2011 figures were released, the company also announced that Michael Rauterkus (pictured), the president for the Americas, Europe, Middle East & Africa was being appointed to the management board as chief sales officer for the same region.

"Ever since joining GROHE in 2006, Michael Rauterkus has driven forward the professionalisation of the Grohe sales force and has been very successful in contributing to the company's positive development," the board said.

In an interview with kbbreview in March, Rauterkus said the UK was a key market for growth: "The UK is a big market, we have developed a plan for the UK and take it very seriously. When you talk to architects, retailers and even plumbers, they love the Grohe brand, but to be successful in the UK market it often needs some specific UK product and that needs a full company commitment. We started that last year and [it's] been very successful and it gives us confidence to invest further in the market."

Grohe AG is one of Europe's largest manufacturers of brassware and related products, with a market share of around 8%.

With its headquarters in Hemer and corporate office in Düsseldorf it currently employs some 5,400 people worldwide, including 2,400 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.

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.