YPIE Tour Blog Day 14: Blum

Thomas Firth of Silentnight writes about the Young Professional Industry Experience tour group’s visit to components firm Blum.

We started the day out with breakfast with Mark Richardson, Managing Director of Blum, who has been with the company for more than 25 years.

Blum is an international company that specialises in the production of functional furniture fittings. Its UK base is in Milton Keynes but Blum employs a vast amount of people worldwide and is still increasing.

The company’s main product groups are lift mechanisms, hinges and drawer systems for furniture – in particular for kitchen furniture.

Once we arrived at Blum’s distribution centre, we were taken on a factory tour and were impressed by Blum’s warehouse, which is fully automated.

The tour involved the new ‘Blum Experience’, which we were the first group to test.  The beginning of the experience starts with details on Blum’s  foundation by Julius Blum. The experience gives a detailed account of the company’s history, showcasing all of their products evolving through time, up until 2016.

After lunch, James gave us an overview of how a product gets to market and I got a chance to try out the Age Explorer Suit which mimics ageing and the problems the elderly can face in the kitchen.

The age explorer lets you feel what age-related limitations are like. Various components imitate, for example, stiff joints, muscle fatigue and impaired vision and hearing.

The visit to Blum has given us a better insight into how components are mass produced and distributed around the world.