STANLEY, N.C. -- Blum, Inc. is marking 40 years in the United States and invited all employees to a special event on April 29. The affair thanked team members’ contributions towards the success of the family-owned company.

“We have always believed in building long-lasting relationships with employees, customers and key suppliers. Many times, it is said that customer comes first,” Blum, Inc. CEO Karl Rudisser said. “I believe that both the employee and customer are equal. I think if you have great employees, the natural consequence is they will take care of the customer.”

Blum was incorporated in Austria, where founder Julius Blum had the vision to start this venture in the United States. Over the course of 40 years, the people of Blum have made the North Carolina-based subsidiary very successful.

To this day, Blum is still driven by the familial spirit of its founders, which has enabled Blum to push new boundaries and pioneer new products. “We are continuously innovating new products and services and working to improve the quality of existing ones,” Rudisser said. “Because of this, we can look back on many years of continued growth.”

Special guests from Austria were in attendance that night, including a member of the Blum family. Commenting on the occasion, Julius’s grandson, Martin Blum, said, “Employees are the key factor for our success. Motivated people working together, with a high identification with the company’s philosophy were the base of the success of the past 40 years, and I’m sure it will also be in the future.”

Blum, Inc. was established in 1977 in Hickory, N.C., in a small rented warehouse. In the early years, Blum focused on developing customer relationships, and products were imported from Austria. Shortly thereafter, Blum moved to its current home in Stanley where the manufacturing of products in the United States began.

In 1995, Blum, Inc. founded the Apprenticeship 2000 program. Today, they continue to recognize the importance of youth education and career development in North Carolina.

“Today we can reap the benefits of this program with many of our former apprentices in key positions within our company,” Rudisser said.

Today, Blum, Inc. operates in a 450,000-square-foot building on 75 acres of land. Blum has more than 400 employees and the estimated sales for this financial year is $280 million. http://www.blum.com.