Success for Blum: Thanks to a good start into the fiscal year 2019/2020, the fittings specialist closes with a group turnover of 1,906.92 million Euro. With a plus of 14.90 million or plus 0.8 percent, this corresponds roughly to the previous year’s level.
After a good start to the financial year, the corona virus caused severe distortions in the global markets from April onwards and also led to a sharp drop in sales at Blum. The company was nevertheless able to supply its customers in over 120 countries on a continuous basis. Blum continues to push its international orientation and now has 32 subsidiaries and representative offices worldwide. In March 2020, a location in South Africa was added. Blum generates 97 percent of its sales, 44 percent of which are generated in the EU and 15 percent in the USA.
The number of employees at Blum as of 30.06.2020 is 8 349 worldwide, 6 180 of them in Vorarlberg, which is 262 more than in the previous year. From September 2020, 94 new apprentices will start their training at the company in Vorarlberg – 23 of them girls. This means that 378 apprentices will be in training at Blum Austria, where young people have been trained as technical experts for half a century now. The subsidiary Blum USA trains 24 apprentices to become specialists. For the first time, 4 young people are being trained at Blum Poland.
In Western Europe, markets such as Italy, France, England or Spain were in lockdown, sometimes for weeks at a time. This has also led to a decline in sales for Blum in this region. In Eastern Europe, the company was able to record growth despite economic restrictions, some of which were considerable. Managing Director Philipp Blum says: “For us, the European Union remains a significant stability factor. Keeping the borders open for freight traffic at all times has enabled us to supply our customers worldwide without interruption even during the crisis”. Sales in North America remained at the previous year’s level, while in the South American markets Blum had to accept a significant decline from the previous year’s level. In the Asia-Pacific region, the fittings manufacturer also achieved an increase in the past business year thanks to the continued very positive development of China. “However, India has been hit hard by the crisis,” explained Managing Director Philipp Blum at the press conference. “And with the exception of China, the South East Asian region. In China, the economy already picked up again in the course of March”.
Of course, new products also contributed to the growth. Blum was also able to register 79 new patents in 2019 (out of a total of around 2,100 now).
Total investments of the Blum Group in the business year 2019/2020 amounted to 327 million Euro. In Vorarlberg, the construction of the extension in Plant 4 in Bregenz is progressing according to plan. A new production hall with 49,000 square meters of floor space and a high-bay warehouse will be built here by summer 2021. For this project, Blum is once again using a multi-storey construction method in order to conserve space resources. In the immediate vicinity of Plant 4, the fittings manufacturer acquired the factory property from Wolford. The buildings are leased back to Wolford on a long-term basis, and Blum intends to use unused space itself in the foreseeable future. “Our investments in the region are a clear commitment to the Vorarlberg location”, says Managing Director Martin Blum. Important investments are also taking place internationally. In China, the construction of the new production site including an automatic high-bay warehouse has started, Blum expects to complete the project by the end of 2022, while in the USA, the extension of the warehouse and production areas will be completed by the end of the year. In Canada, the local subsidiary will move into a new building with warehouse, office and showroom in late autumn 2020.
Blum believes that the outlook for the coming months is fraught with uncertainty. The after-effects of the health crisis will continue to be felt in the global economy for some time to come. Blum considers it particularly important for the European Union to find a common way to tackle the challenges ahead. Philipp Blum says: “For us as an internationally active company, this community is particularly fundamental. In the future, the traditional company will continue to focus on the constant expansion of international markets, close customer relations and ongoing innovations in the product and service area. From the very beginning, Blum has been pursuing a strategy for the long-term preservation of the company for its employees, according to the management. “The past months have been very challenging for us as a company and we are taking a lot with us for the future. We would like to thank our team for their commitment and cohesion,” emphasizes Philipp Blum.
The company eagerly awaits the business development in autumn. “In recent months, the demand situation has been very positive for us.
