As China's economy recovers strongly, Blum, a global furniture hardware leader headquartered in Austria, officially announced at its recent Media Open Day that its fully automated intelligent factory in Qingpu, Shanghai, has been officially put into operation after three years. Several hinge lines have already been deployed and will be further deployed in the future, using equipment and processes that are fully aligned with Blum global standards and will only be available to Chinese customers of the same quality.
We have always been full of confidence in China's furniture market
Blum entered China in 2002 and thanks to the booming Chinese economy, Blum has also grown and now has 3 offices in Shanghai and 7 branches throughout China. "In the past 20 years, China's furniture market has experienced rapid development, and we have also grown with the market. At present, China's economy is in a stage of strong recovery, and we are always confident in the prospects for the future. That's why we invested in the construction of factories in China at the end of 2019. Even in the face of great uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, we continued to build the plant as planned. Martin Blum, Managing Director of Blum Group, said.
Long-term investment
The 58,000-square-meter Blum China plant in Shanghai's Qingpu Industrial Park broke ground in November 2019 and completed the first phase of the building in March 2022. The first machines were installed and put into operation in June 2022. The fully automated high-bay warehouse up to 35 meters tall is currently in the final stages of construction and is expected to be operational in December 2023, which will enable more efficient logistics services for Chinese customers. The plant was also designed with sustainability in mind, incorporating advanced technologies such as building automation, rainwater recovery, and geothermal applications. Currently, the building has achieved LEED green building certification. Previously, Blum had only production plants in the USA, Brazil and Poland, in addition to its headquarters in Austria. "Having a factory in China demonstrates Blum's focus on the Chinese market and allows us to be closer to our Chinese customers and provide more efficient services. Our investment is a well-thought-out, long-term plan that is not subject to short-term fluctuations. Long-term and robust, this is the principle of Blum. Donghe Zhao, Managing Director of Blum China, explains, "Our investments are not limited to fixed assets such as buildings and machinery, but we also invest in our employees. We attach great importance to the all-round training of employees, provide them with perfect technical training, and cultivate local high-quality technical talents for the factory. Providing employees with a long-term, stable, challenging and promising employment platform is also the core philosophy of Blum. ”
Globally harmonized production processes and quality standards
The seemingly simple hinge contains more than 50 precision parts, and the entire assembly process requires a high degree of precision and the time is measured in milliseconds. To ensure that products meet Blum's unique quality standards, Blum and machine manufacturers design machines and molds in factories around the world. From components to semi-finished products to final products, fully automated machines are 100% inspected while being produced. Computed X-ray tomography, 360° scanning of the product, in addition to conventional inspection tools, the quality inspection table also uses high-precision microscopes, the detection tolerance reaches one thousandth of a millimeter. In the closed quality inspection room, dozens of hinge testing machines continuously test the products and simulate various extreme scenarios, and the data is also globally networked to achieve timely feedback of information.
From layout to machine configuration, from production processes to testing standards, the Chinese plant has fully reproduced the standards of Blum headquarters in Vorarlberg, Austria. "Our production is modular, and some of the machines currently in use in the Chinese factory have been completely relocated from the Austrian headquarters and can be quickly put into production after several weeks of installation and commissioning. We use the same equipment, the same production process, the same quality inspection standards, all of which are the guarantee for us to deliver global unified standard products for Chinese customers. Martin Blum, Group Managing Director of Blum Group, emphasises.
Martin Blum, Managing Director of Blum Group
Blum China General Manager Zhao Donghe