Bluhm Systeme GmbH is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Founded in 1968 by Eckhard Bluhm, the company is the forerunner of the Bluhm Weber Group which has included Mark-O-Print since 2003. First emerging in 1980, the group was the result of a joint venture between Bluhm and Weber Systems Inc, the US-American world leader in coding and labelling. Today, Bluhm is one of the leading providers of identification solutions for production and logistics across numerous industries in Europe. Every year, Bluhm installs approximately 3,500 new systems and customised solutions. Employing more than 400 staff, Bluhm attained annual turnover of 95 million euros in 2007.

The name Bluhm is closely associated with a long list of product innovations. In 1978, for example, Bluhm launched the first electronic  “Dataroyal” matrix printer in the market. This invention enabled flexible lettering to be undertaken on labels for the first time. Other milestones included the first computer-controlled label printing systems, the first Legitronic software at the beginning of the 1980s, the first continuous ink systems in 1983, as well as the first-ever thermal and thermal transfer printers launched in 1987. In the 1990s, Bluhm branched out into the high-resolution Piezo injection technology as well as laser coding and RFID technology, and launched the first patented pallet labelling system TB2A. In 2006, the “Alpha RFID”, an RFID label dispenser for system upgrades was awarded the innovation prize by the German Association for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, and a year later the high-performance label print dispenser LA 4050 E was selected for the same award.

Today, Bluhm Systeme operates the largest direct marketing and servicing network in the labelling industry. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland alone, more than 90 system analysts and service engineers provide customer support every day. Apart from system-specific support and engineering services in the area of special purpose engineering, 18 service stations comprising their own spare parts storage facilities offer technical services and comprehensive customer support.

Bluhm Systeme is committed to continued growth over the next few years. Following the launch of the 10th production machine for labelling - working width 20 inches - last year, the company is striving to reach the turnover threshold of 100-million euros in 2008. Apart from the founding father Eckhard Bluhm himself, his three sons, too, have become involved in the family business and taken up high positions within it in recent years in the course of several company acquisitions. This means that the company is extremely well positioned to deal with the inevitable issue of succession.