Kohler Bought the World’s Largest Sauna Maker. Now It’s Selling Saunas in America.

Kohler, the 153-year-old Wisconsin plumbing company, acquired German sauna manufacturer KLAFS in January 2024, built a new wellness division around it, and is now selling KOHLER-branded indoor and outdoor saunas in the United States with something no competitor can match: nationwide, white-glove installation through Kohler’s own service network. SaunaNews was at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando this February to see the full line firsthand.

The saunas are European-built, fully insulated, and arrive with an integrated KLAFS heater that cannot be swapped for a third-party unit. Indoor models start at $13,400. Outdoor models start at $30,600. The heater is locked in. The installation is included. And the corporate strategy behind the launch is bigger than most of the press coverage has acknowledged.

The Acquisition That Made This Possible

The Kohler sauna story starts not in Wisconsin but in Schwäbisch Hall, a medieval town in Baden-Württemberg where KLAFS has been building saunas since 1928. By the time Amsterdam-based private equity firm Egeria acquired a majority stake in 2021, KLAFS had roughly 733 employees, 25 European showrooms, and annual revenue of approximately EUR 115 million. Under Egeria’s ownership, KLAFS expanded into the UK, Spain, and Mexico through acquisitions of Guncast Swimming Pools and Prim Spa, growing to 850 employees across nine countries.

On December 1, 2023, Kohler signed a definitive agreement to acquire KLAFS from Egeria. The deal closed on January 18, 2024. Financial terms were not disclosed, though Egeria’s investment range of EUR 50 to 350 million in enterprise value gives a rough bracket. KLAFS was placed into Kohler’s Luxury and Wellness Brands group alongside ANN SACKS, KALLISTA, Robern, and Kast Concrete Basins.

“KLAFS is an international market leader that shares our passion for innovation, design, and a relentless pursuit of providing exceptional wellness products, services, and experiences,” David Kohler, Chair and CEO, said at the time of closing. KLAFS CEO Phillip Rock and CFO Jens Friedrich both stayed on.

This is not a licensing deal or a supplier relationship. Kohler owns KLAFS outright. The heater inside every KOHLER-branded sauna is not outsourced from a partner. It is manufactured by a Kohler subsidiary.

Two Brands, One Owner

Kohler is running a dual-brand sauna strategy in the US that most coverage has not explained clearly. KLAFS continues to operate independently as a premium and commercial brand, with its own US website (klafsusa.com) and its own product lineup, including the retractable KLAFS S1, the VALORA, and the ARISO. Design for Leisure serves as the authorized commercial dealer for KLAFS products in the US and Caribbean.

The KOHLER-branded saunas are a separate line: simpler, more standardized, and aimed at the residential buyer who wants a finished product from a name they already trust. Katie Stevens, General Manager of Kohler Wellness, explained the structure to Designers Today in October 2025: “Its KLAFS division operates as its own brand with support from Kohler,” she said, adding that Kohler draws on KLAFS’s manufacturing expertise to deliver “a distinct design personality, quality, and experience that is uniquely Kohler.”

The practical implication: if you want a custom sauna for a $40 million hotel spa, you call KLAFS. If you want a three-person sauna for your primary bathroom renovation, you order a Kohler C1. Same parent company, same manufacturing DNA, different buyers.

What We Saw at IBS 2026

Kohler’s booth at the 2026 International Builders’ Show in Orlando occupied 15,600 square feet at the Orange County Convention Center, the largest footprint at the show. The company staged a wellness vignette that placed the C1 and C2 saunas alongside the Kohler x Remedy Place ice bath, the Invigoration Series steam system, and the new Dekoda health monitor. The message was clear: Kohler is not adding saunas as a line extension. It is building a wellness division.

GrowthSpotter confirmed in its IBS coverage that Kohler has created a dedicated unit called Kohler Health to house these products. That division now spans traditional saunas, infrared models, cold plunge, steam, and connected health monitoring. The saunas are the most visible piece, but the infrastructure around them signals a longer play.

The product line splits into two families. The C1 is the indoor range, available in small (up to three people), medium (up to five), and large (up to six). It can stand alone as a freestanding unit or integrate into the walls of a renovation or new build. The C2 is the outdoor range, built with triple-insulated waterproof ceilings, dual-pane glass, and a locking door and control box.

European Construction for the American Market

The construction is where these saunas earn their price. Every C1 and C2 ships fully assembled (minus door and floor kit) with factory-installed mineral wool insulation, not the aftermarket retrofit that owners of cheaper cabin kits know too well. The walls are thick. The glass is tempered. The interior benches are obeche, a West African hardwood favored in European saunas for its low thermal conductivity (it stays cool enough to sit on at full operating temperature).

Ventilation runs through what Kohler calls the Aerotherm system, an integrated airflow design intended to circulate heat evenly from floor to the upper bench. Indoor models come in two exterior finishes (Scandinavian Spruce or Graphite Grey) with Scandinavian Spruce interiors across the board. Outdoor models offer Douglas Fir or Weathered Grey Spruce exteriors, also with Scandinavian Spruce interiors.

Kohler has not disclosed which specific European facility manufactures the KOHLER-branded line, but the KLAFS connection points toward production infrastructure in Germany, Austria, or Poland, where KLAFS operates factories. The company’s July 2025 launch announcement described the products as “scientifically tested and unmatched in quality,” though it did not name the country of manufacture.

The Heater: A KLAFS FERO You Cannot Swap Out

Every Kohler sauna ships with a KLAFS FERO, a tower-style electric heater that uses Finnish olivine stones in an aluminum basket. Two sizes cover the range: 4.5 kW for the small and medium models, 9 kW for the large units. The heater includes an aroma cup for essential oils, dual thermostatic controls, and a touchscreen that manages time, temperature, and ambient lighting (including what Kohler calls a “sunset lighting system”). All of these run on a 240V dedicated circuit.

For the builder, installer, or enthusiast who prides themselves on heater selection, the locked configuration is the deal-breaker. If you want a Harvia Cilindro, a HUUM DROP, or an EOS Mythos in your sauna room, this product is not built for you. Kohler has designed the heater cavity, the electrical routing, and the ventilation around the FERO specifically. Swapping in a third-party unit would void the warranty and likely require electrical modifications.

The trade-off makes more strategic sense once you understand that KLAFS is not an outside supplier. It is Kohler’s own subsidiary. The company is not locking you into someone else’s heater. It is standardizing on its own technology, manufactured by a company it bought for exactly this purpose. That standardization is what enables the nationwide installation program: every installer trains on one heater, one wiring spec, one ventilation layout.

The UL Question

Kohler’s launch press release states that “electronic components comply with respective UL and CSA standards for safety and quality.” That is carefully chosen language. “Comply with” UL standards is not the same as “UL Listed,” which is the specific certification mark that US electrical inspectors look for when signing off on a permanent installation. The distinction matters.

UL listing is the baseline safety certification in the American market. A heater that “complies with UL standards” may meet the performance and safety requirements of UL 875 (the standard for electric dry-bath heaters) without carrying the formal listing that allows an inspector to verify compliance in a national database. Tulikivi faced a similar timeline question when bringing its Kevo heater to the American market earlier this year.

We asked about the UL listing number at the IBS booth and did not receive a definitive answer. Kohler is a company that sells UL-listed products across its entire electrical portfolio. It would be unusual for the FERO to ship without formal certification. But the press release language leaves room for ambiguity, and buyers placing orders should ask for the listing number before scheduling installation. For a company that sells itself on removing friction from the buying process, this is an uncharacteristic gap in the public record.

Nationwide Installation and Pricing

The installation program is the piece of this launch that no other sauna manufacturer in the US can replicate right now. Kohler is offering white-glove installation through the same certified network that handles its steam showers and spa systems. A homeowner in Phoenix, Portland, or Pittsburgh can order a sauna and have Kohler’s team manage delivery, placement, electrical connection, and commissioning.

For context, the standard American path to sauna ownership means buying a unit from a manufacturer or distributor, hiring your own electrician, and coordinating delivery yourself. Companies like Finnmark Designs, Almost Heaven, or direct-from-Finland importers sell good products, but installation is the buyer’s problem. The commercial side of the US sauna market is surging (Bathhouse raised $35 million this year to fund eight-city expansion), but the residential path remains fragmented.

Kohler’s bet is that installation friction, not product quality, is what holds back residential adoption in the US. The company already runs a nationwide service network for its premium lines. Extending that to sauna installation is an infrastructure play that a startup manufacturer cannot replicate without years of contractor recruitment and training.

At $13,400 for the entry-level indoor model and $30,600 for the entry-level outdoor, Kohler is pricing above the assembled-in-a-warehouse kit market and below the custom European build. The value proposition is not price. It is the elimination of every friction point between wanting a sauna and having a working sauna: product selection, heater matching, installation coordination, electrical spec, and warranty service, all handled by one company.

The Bigger Play: Kohler Health

The sauna launch is one piece of a broader corporate strategy that Kohler has been building methodically since the KLAFS acquisition. In October 2024, the company announced the Kohler x Remedy Place ice bath (a partnership with Dr. Jonathan Leary’s social wellness club). In November 2024, KLAFS launched the VALORA and ARISO sauna lines in the US under its own brand. In March 2026, the retractable KLAFS S1 arrived in America.

By the time Kohler showed up at IBS in February 2026, these individual products had been bundled into a new division: Kohler Health. Chris Ball, President of Kitchen and Bath, described the strategic logic in a January 2026 CNBC interview: “A big area of focus is health and wellness, which we see as a mega trend for the next five, 10, or 20 years. We have been in wellness since the 1800s, starting with the bathtub.”

The contrast therapy portfolio now includes traditional saunas (KOHLER and KLAFS branded), infrared saunas, ice baths, the Invigoration Series steam generators, the Anthem+ digital shower (which includes an ice shower mode), and the Dekoda health monitoring device. Stevens told Designers Today: “We see ourselves as a single, trusted, one-stop shop for creating comprehensive at-home wellness spaces.”

Ball also confirmed that Kohler intends to remain private. “There is no intent to change that, and it is actually a huge advantage for us,” he said. “Being private allows us to make decisions across the short, mid, and long term without external analyst or investor noise.” That private status is why there are no SEC filings, earnings calls, or analyst reports to cite. Kohler’s sauna strategy is documented entirely through press releases and trade interviews.