Hoechst, Austria – Blumotion – the soft-close system that has become a standard feature of modern furniture – won the European Inventor Award 2013 in Amsterdam today.

Blumotion, Blum’s solution for soft and effortless closing, has won the European Inventor Award in the category “industry”. The international award is presented by the European Patent Office (EPO) and is designed to put the spotlight on innovative developments created by people with great technical, scientific and intellectual expertise. Blum’s team of developers who picked up the award in Amsterdam today were overjoyed. “Being nominated was an honor in itself. Holding the award in our hands is a great feeling and recognition for the hard work done by the entire team,” says Gerhard Kleinsasser, Head of Research and Development. Employees from different departments were involved in the various development stages and they all greatly contributed towards the success of Blumotion.

Austrian fittings manufacturer Blum decided to focus on soft and effortless closing for furniture early on. The company’s first soft-close system for doors was designed for drilling into the cabinet wall on the handle side or for screw fixing to the inside of the cabinet with an adapter plate. The next big development step brought attachment to Blum hinge arms – as an optional feature for easy tool-free mounting. The latest hinge generation has the entire soft-close system seamlessly integrated into the hinge cup. Blumotion is a successful Blum product development that achieved international recognition early on.

Blum is an innovative industry leader

Product innovations such as Blumotion are designed to safeguard the long-term, sustainable success of the Corporate Group. Thanks to consistent investments in research and development, the family-owned company has asserted its position as a reliable supplier of furniture manufacturers and as an innovative industry leader for many years. “We apply for patents to protect all our latest developments that are designed to meet our customers’ current and future needs,” says Jürgen Wilke who is responsible for patents at Blum. He goes on to name some figures: “Blum holds some 1,200 property rights all over the world. In 2012 alone, the Austrian Patent Office granted the company 57 new patents and designs. Blum is second in Austria’s overall patents ranking.”

Julius Blum GmbH

Blum is an international company that specializes in the manufacture and sale of furniture fittings. The company’s main product groups are hinge, pull-out and lift systems for furniture – mainly in kitchens. Blum’s customers are furniture manufacturers and fittings distributors. The Group employs 5,700 people in the design and manufacture of innovative fittings. Blum has seven plants in Vorarlberg, Austria and additional production plants in Poland, the USA and Brazil as well as 27 subsidiaries and representative offices. Products are delivered to more than 100 markets.

Source: Blum