Hello everyone,

New to posting but wanted to offer anyone who is looking at a Kitchen remodel who might find the following post useful. This post is to help anyone taking a look at European Kitchen Companies in the U.S.: Eggersman, Bauformat, Poggenpohl, Siematic, Liecht. I’ll also try posting my findings on appliances as well.

Personally, it was very hard for me to find any resources online that really went through them all.

Full disclaimer, what I write here please take what you will. Everything is personal preference and I just hope this helps others in the future. Much of it I'm passing on from my own discussions with sales people and professionals, random snippets here and there and these were my notes.

My project is a fully kitchen remodel. Our design approach is very minimalist, flat smooth surfaces, modern and no handles. We very much liked the Scandinavian style. We did not like the shaker style which is very common for US based kitchen companies. Because of our preferences, it steered us away from U.S. based manufacturers. A GC we spoke to reluctantly agreed as even if a kitchen company offered it; it was probably a recent offering meaning they do not have the years of experience as European companies. We did look at Ikea and it's certainly an option but preferred the stronger carcass builds of European companies. We also liked the metal box drawer approach that was a given with all Euro brands (vs dovetail wooden drawers).

(Side note if you like the metal box style drawers, there are companies in the US that make these systems so you can retrofit your drawers. Google search Novo Pro Scala, Meta Box, Legra Box and Blum to get an idea. If you want new cabinets to have this from day 1, it'll take several layers of research. These Blum and Grass(sp) companies sell to cabinet manufacturers who then sell through regional kitchen companies. For example, I found Luxor Cabinets used a metal box system and then I had to find a local kitchen company would carried Luxor Cabinets. There are mixed reviews on Luxor cabinets because of the rest of the build etc. which complicated it further.)

Onto European kitchen companies. Just to reiterate what others have said. Yes they are expensive for several reasons. Key ones are the import tax is built into your cost and that it's made in Europe and shipped to the U.S.

I had a really informative conversation with a kitchen euro rep. Keep in mind they're always a bit biased but I still found it extremely informative.

1. Dealer vs corporate companies: Corporate companies are Bulthaup and Poggenpohl They tend to have more consistent pricing across their different locations. They also tend to have a better track record of taking your project from start to finish (through installation). Dealers (literally everyone else: Eggersman, Leicht, Siematic, Bauformat, Haecker) are more distributed and diverse (maybe think traditional car dealerships vs tesla selling structure(?)). The pricing can vary and they may have a poorer track record to taking your project through installation. In my personal experience, I received a quote from Haecker which is supposed to be a lower budget brand and it was very expensive. I also think it’s partly due to the Haecker showroom being in a very swanky rich area.
2. Machinery: The rep noticed a key difference is that Euro companies have multi-million dollar machines that control the construction process, especially their laminates and lacquers. It's an investment most if not all U.S. based companies cannot or have not chosen to invest in.
3. Discount: For most if not all, you can expect be offered a discount of 10% to 15%. This was true for most companies I received a quote from. If not, ask. Some designers were noting the current currency discrepancy.

On to brands, below outline tidbits the rep gave me plus my only personal impressions. I only have quotes from Poggenpohl, Eggersman and Bauformat so far.

1. Poggenpohl: It was bought over in August 2020 by a Chinese company and it remains unclear which direction they're going. Yes all cabinets are made in Germany and that has not changed. However they seem to be a step behind others in design innovation and offerings. Not to mention they're perhaps the most expensive option out there. Price point is high end. (Perhaps give Poggenpohl the benefit of doubt and they’ll straighten as it’s only been 2 years since they were bought).
2. Siematic: It was bought over in October 2017 by a Chinese company too but she noted the key difference was that the new owner has been actively investing in the company. In February 2021, it announced they were investing millions which to upgrade a manufacturing site. Consider the price point mid to high end.
3. Liecht: In her opinion, the ability to deliver on installation has come down and has heard of their challenges trying to get installation complete. Price point is mid.
4. Eggersman: As a mid-tier company, she has heard they have fewer issues in being able to deliver and their service is still very solid but expect an upcharge. Price point is mid.
5. Nobilia: Low end company but she strongly recommended against them. She likened them to the European equivalent of Ikea where they’re typically used to furnish rental apartments. The company came to the U.S. offering similar product quality with a significant upcharge.
6. Henry Built: U.S. Based company. I had looked into them thinking they might be more affordable because I could avoid import and shipping taxes. Price is mid to high end I believe. The rep thought they were very well built but the company would put more money into odd places. For example, they spend a lot of money on the carcass material (some russian wood) so it looks very nice when you open the doors. (not a priority for me so I passed on researching them further.)

Pricing: I’ll leave out the exact details but for relativeness, I tried to have the same design instructions for all three but of course I’m sure there’s some margin of error. Eggersman was ~60% cheaper than Poggenpohl. Bauformat was ~70% cheaper than Poggenpohl. Note this excluded all cabinet accessory inserts, lighting, fancy things like automated doors etc.

I hope this was something that was helpful!