Company History

1897

The Blumer company was set up in 1897 by Jean Blumer. He managed the firm until his death in 1926. The activities of the locksmith's shop consisted mainly of repair work on machinery and appliances.

1916

Purchase of the property at the Zeughausstrasse 7 in Zürich. The company developed from a locksmith's shop to a mechanical workshop.

1926

At the age of just 20, Hans Blumer took the firm over from his father and ran it until 1984. While the emphasis was on special textile machinery during the nineteen twenties, the first developments in the area of the graphic industry were added in the thirties.

1945

Lack of space prompted the company to set up a manufacturing room at the Lagerstrasse 51 in Zürich. All sorts of apparatuses were produced, e.g. flycatcher machines, fingerprint appliances, stamping devices, automation equipment for weaving and textile finishing machines, as well as the legendary Blumer punching platen which influenced the development of the firm to a substantial degree until 1974.

1953

Hans Blumer jr. joined the company.

1954

Construction of a new factory at the Leutschenbachstrasse in Zürich. Since that time the company has been active in the field of labels. The vertical step and repeat die cutting machine MCB (Martini, Cortes and Blumer) was built with mechanical controls until 1980. This was followed by CNC-controlled versions from 1980 until 1996. The equipment belonged to the most modern of its kind, but production ceased in 1996 due to unfavourable changes in the market.

1965

From 1965 a label banding machine was built which found its way to most label producers all over the world. It was superseded by more modern systems in the early eighties.

Verena Blumer joined the company.

1967

The development of the push-through die cutting method started in 1967. It is now used as a standard system worldwide; also for automation purposes.

1972

On the occasion of the Drupa 1972, a first combined label production system consisting of a D-18 die cutting machine (with spindle) and the banding machine BB (Blumer Bundler) was exhibited. It was probably the world's first fully automatic label production unit and an odd piece of equipment at the time. The production of this transfer machine was abandoned in 1976.

1974 – 1977

For space reasons premises had to be changed again in 1974, and a new building was set up in Otelfingen where the company is located to this day.

1974 to 1977 were economically difficult years for the H. Blumer Machine Factory, but they led to positive technological developments. The first prototype of the Atlas system was officially presented at the Drupa 77. The professional public praised it as a sensation in the area of onward processing after label printing.

1979

The success of the Atlas label production line started in 1979. It permitted the combination of working sequences such as strip insertion, strip transfer to the cutting machine, programmed cross-cutting, die cutting by the push-through method (high die), separating by means of a mechanical-optical system followed by banding with PE-coated papier or polyester tape. Parallel developments took place and associated products of the Atlas system came up in the form of the Atlas 200 and Atlas 400 which were introduced successfully for special formats in the area of cut labels.

The modular structure of the Atlas system was no doubt partly responsible for the success, since it enabled small firms to start with the basic model and to gradually expand this to the full Atlas label production line 110.

1984

Change of the private firm to H. Blumer Maschinenbau AG. The owners and shareholders of the company are Hans Blumer Jr. and Verena Blumer. Hans Blumer Sr. resigns and Hans Blumer Jr. becomes responsible for the management of the company.

1988

1988 saw the development of a special execution, namely of the multi-banding machine which was expected to cope with both normal and maxipack banding. The sights were set too high, the available resources insufficient and the development time underestimated. The result was too expensive and not attractive enough for Blumer. The design was subsequently revised and the outcome was the PB-110 which can be attached to any make of cutting machine.

1994 – 1996

The counterpressure die cutting principle was developed from 1994 to 1996. This patented product is a world leader for precision processing of even the most difficult materials. In the years since, the die cutting principle has been expanded from the solo die cutting machine DG-18.M to the complete production system Atlas AG-110. Modularity has also been an aspect of primary importance in this case.

1996

After 35 years of successful distribution of the Blumer line, the US Company Graphic Arts Machinery was purchased to provide the foundation of Blumer (USA) Inc. Blumer (USA) Inc., a US Corporation was serve as the North American distribution and service organization for Blumer Maschinenbau AG.

1997

100th anniversary of the company with celebrations in Otelfingen and Chicago.

The opportunity is taken to present the latest development, the KSS 2310 for die cutting playing high quality cards.

Today

The company is now an innovative and achnowledged provider of technology in the areas of automatic label and card production. It employs a workforce of approx. 60 in Switzerland, 6 in the United States and three in Hong Kong.