The seven factories that are at the heart of Blum’s worldwide production are situated in the very west of Austria at the foothills of the Vorarlberg alps and on the eastern shore of Lake Constance.
Blum is one of the most innovative manufacturers of fittings and systems for fitted furniture – primarily kitchens but increasingly used in bathrooms, bedrooms, living areas and in the commercial hospitality sector.
The history of what remains a family-owned company is fascinating in itself. Founded by Julius Blum just over 60 years ago the company has expanded into a worldwide organisation with 5907 people employed and sales of €1317m in the year 2012/2013. Julius Blum was a blacksmith who developed a replaceable horseshoe stud for the main mode of transport in the Vorarlberg Province after the war. He the obtained a licence to sell Anuba hinges in Austria and soon went into manufacturing of the first concealed hinges as well as drawer runners.
Today the three main product groups of this innovative fittings manufacturer are:
• Pull-out systems (Legrabox with 2 programme lines, Tandembox with three programme lines, and two runner systems for drawers and pull-outs made from wood Movento and Tandem).
• Hinge systems (the latest generation: Cliptop Bumotion for various applications with different opening angles).
• Lift systems (Aventos in the bi-fold, up and over lift, lift and flap stay variants).
Blum’s production has always been underpinned by innovation – constantly moving forward, being the best and designing products and systems that are patented internationally and continue to attract prestigious international awards.
But perhaps what Furniture Production discovered of utmost importance is the philosophy and ethical depth that underpins this remarkable success.
One of the key strategies behind product development is described as ‘Global Customer Benefits’. This means that every Blum product must bring positive advantages to everyone in the chain with whom they come in contact – from furniture manufacturers to fitters and retailers and most importantly end users.
The seven plants in the confined Vorarlberg area co-exist easily and amicably with other businesses and crucially residential properties. Blum have always taken their good neighbour responsibilities extremely seriously and go to great lengths to ensure that environmental and ecological impact and carefully managed and minimised. This includes steps like:
• Comprehensive use of reusable packaging
• Efficient use of building land by building multi-storey buildings
• Optimum insulation of buildings meeting the standards of single-family houses
• Recuperation of heat from production processes for heating purposes
• The use of ground water for air-conditioning and cooling of machines
• Use of recyclable raw materials in production
These, along with other measures ensure that Blum maintain ISO 14001 certification for environmental system.
Relationships with the local population is enormously important and Blum are one of the largest employers in the region. For many years now they have operated what has become an internationally recognised scheme of annual apprentice recruitment and training to the mutual benefit of the company and population.
As of September 2013 there were 256 apprentices in training and these young men and women are highly motivated, train of brand new, state of the art machinery and graduate in a number high-tech trades. Blum apprentices regularly take part in international competitions and have an enviable record including seven gold, 12 silver, five bronze and 11 certificates of excellence to date.
The large majority of Blum’s production is exported to more than 100 countries and worldwide they have 27 subsidiaries and representative offices including a major headquarters and distribution hub at Milton Keynes in the UK. Blum UK is recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and has become a sophisticated organisation with a high-tech, automated high-bay warehouse, showrooms, training facilities and the innovative ‘Test Drive’ kitchen where visitors can experiment with different layouts and configurations according to the principles of Blum’s DYMANIC SPACE concept for storage and planning.
Blum UK has also set up a fast expanding Retail Services Division which has been a major success and extends Blum’s services far beyond their front line of customers.
There are many other impressive facets of this extraordinary company which, for reasons of space, we are unable to detail here. Suffice it to say that the good people of Blum are as proud of their company as they are of the breath taking Vorarlberg in which they work and we were privileged to be the guests of fantastic hospitality which include memorable lakeside meals and a visit one evening to the world famous Bregenz Festival which includes a spectacular floating stage on Lake Constance where we were treated to an unforgettable production of Mozart’s Magic Flute.
