If you are looking for great kitchen and bathroom fixtures such as toilets, sinks, faucets, and more, you obviously want to go with a brand name that you can trust. That said, there are so many brands out there that making a choice can be hard.
Today we will look closer at two of the most popular brands in this field, Rohl and Kohler.
Which of the two is better for you? Continue reading to find out.
A Brief History of Rohl and Kohler
Rohl was first founded by Ken Rohl in 1983. It was first called Western States Manufacturing Inc. before being reorganized and renamed to Rohl LLC in 1991. Until 2016, it was owned by the Rohl family, at which time it was purchased by Fortune Brands Home & Securities Inc., the same company that owns Moen and Riobel.
Rohl is a very interesting brand to keep in mind, mainly because of its very unique business structure.
The reason why I say this is because Rohl does not actually manufacture its own products. Instead, it imports very high-end faucets and kitchen/bathroom fixtures, mainly from Europe. It then generally rebrands these products under its own name and sells them as such.
Rohl is known for its super high-quality products which it imports into North America, with one of the flagship products being the pull-out kitchen faucet. Rohl also sells English made Perrin & Rowe faucets, as well as German-made Jorger faucets.
As a company, with its 1.4 million USD in annual revenue and 50 employees, Rohl is not nearly as large as Kohler. The latter is a much older company, one founded in 1873 by John Kohler. That said, it is still a private company. Kohler is based in Wisconsin.
It is best known for its plumbing products like toilets, but also makes generators, tile, cabinets, engines, and furniture.
One of the main breakthroughs this company saw was in 1883 when John Kohler applied enamel to a cast iron horse trough, thus creating the brand’s first bathtub. It has been focused mostly on producing bathroom fixtures ever since.
As mentioned before, Kohler is a massive company with over 32,000 employees and annual revenues of roughly 6 billion dollars.
Rohl vs Kohler: Which Offers Better Quality?
One thing that can be said here is that although Rohl might be a miniature company when compared to Kohler, Rohl is widely regarded as selling some of the highest quality products in North America.
As mentioned before, Rohl really does not make its own products at all. Instead, it purchases and imports luxury high-end faucets and fixtures from European brands, then rebrands and sells those products as its own.
Rohl faucets are imported from various European top-of-the-line brands, mainly from Italy, Germany, the UK. The company also imports some products from other countries like New Zealand.
Simply put, Rohl is one of the most expensive brands that you can purchase faucets from, but at the same time, is regarded as having some of the most stylish, innovative, beautiful, and long-lasting products around.
If you are building a luxury bathroom or kitchen, this is a top brand to keep in mind.
On the other hand, we have Kohler, a company that is also known for its quality.
Now, Kohler does have several production facilities in the USA, specifically in Wisconsin, Texas, South Carolina, and Arkansas, which make toilets, faucets, sinks, and more. However, there are also a select few products that are made in Mexico, India, and China.
That said, it does appear that Kohler is increasingly moving its production outside of the USA more and more. Still, it is regarded as a higher-end brand that sells quality products at fairly high prices, although not quite at the same level as Rohl.
Which Offers a Better Warranty?
Plumbing fixtures like toilets and bathtubs can be very expensive, especially when it comes to brands like these, and this means that you do want top-of-the-line warranties.
In terms of Rohl, the company offers a limited lifetime warranty on all faucets and plumbing fixtures, which as far as we are concerned, is absolutely outstanding. On the other hand, from what we have been able to find, most Kohler products come with a one year warranty, unless otherwise noted.
Therefore, Rohl does have a far better warranty on its products.
Rohl vs Kohler: Which Has a Better Product Portfolio?
Although Rohl does sell some of the highest end and most expensive kitchen and bathroom fixtures around, the selection and overall product portfolio are much smaller than that of Kohler. Remember that Kohler makes its own products, whereas Rohl focuses on importing a select few designed and luxury products which it then sells under its own name.
For instance, Rohl has a few dozen really nice bathtubs, whereas Kohler has literally hundreds for sale. This is just an example, but it generally holds true for all product types.
Moreover, Kohler also makes many more types of products.
For instance, on the Rohl website, under the “bathroom” tab, the sections include faucets, parts, tub faucets, accessories, and showers. However, if you look at Kohler, this brand makes literally everything and anything that you could imagine installing in your bathroom, and yes, the same can be said for kitchen related products as well.
In addition to all of the above, Kohler also offers kitchen and bathroom lighting products which Rohl does not.
Which Brand Offers a Better Selection of Toilets?
Kohler offers many more toilets than Rohl does, way more. This is a theme that you will see across the board with these two brands (for the most part).
Rohl has somewhere over a dozen toilets available, all expensive and high quality, whereas Kohler has several dozen options available, with some being very high-end and others not.
Which Brand Offers a Better Selection of Faucets?
One area in which Rohl does have more products available for purchase is in the faucet department. From what we can tell, Rohl has over 500 options to choose from, with Kohler having somewhere around half that amount.
Which of the Two Brands Should You Choose?
If you are looking for expensive, luxury, and designer products to make your bathroom stand out, then Rohl is the way to go, and yes, this brand has a great selection of products, particularly faucets, with great warranties as well.
On the other hand, if you want a wider selection of plumbing products all around, as well as lighting fixtures, you want high-quality products that are not always too expensive, then Kohler might be the better option for you.
Summary
The bottom line is that both of these brands, Rohl and Kohler, are regarded as some of the best in the world of plumbing, with Rohl being the more expensive and luxury-oriented of the two.
If you are on a budget, however, you might want to stick to Kohler.