At the end of the year, we would like to take the opportunity to look back on the anniversary year. Like so much things in the recent months, this year was very turbulent. The Covid-19-pandemic keeps the whole world in suspense and so also the BLANK-Group. Already at the beginning of the year, the company felt the economic turndown which was then exacerbated by Corona. An anniversary celebration with customers, business partners and the entire staff was planned but unfortunately could not take place. In the course of the year it also became clear that this could not be made up for in the second half of the year.
Nevertheless, the BLANK-Group does not want to let the anniversary pass by completely. In cooperation with the staff an action was therefore elaborated to record this year historically – a time capsule that will be buried on the BLANK grounds in Riedlingen. This is filled with messages from employees, customers and business partners, but also with the wishes and ideas of the next generation of the BLANK family. For the company’s 100th anniversary in 40 years, the capsule will be finally reopened to give future employees, management and family a little joy.
"Wishes for the future, ideas of the company in 40 years, but also pictures of current department teams can be recorded in the capsule," explains managing director of BLANK HOLDING Juliane Blank. "Especially at the current time, when the group is facing challenges, we want to send a positive signal with this: We are working to ensure that the BLANK-Group will be still successful in 40 years."
“The fact that our employees have always been “on fire” for their company is shown by the considerable number of longtime jubilarians in the company. In 2020, 70 employees could celebrate 1480 years of service with the company. This and the fact that many years of service at BLANK is rather the rule, fills us all with pride!” so Hubert Deutsch, managing director of the BLANK-Group.
Wilhelm Blank founded the company in 1960 with eight employees. Dipl.-Kfm. Werner Blank joined the family business in 1973 and developed it into an investment casting specialist on the market with around 500 employees by 2013. In the 1970s, the family also introduced employee profit-sharing which allows employees to participate in the company's success until today. Other milestones that can be mentioned at this point are the outsourcing of mold making in the 1990s and the new buildings Plant 2, 3, 4, and the BBC which were built in the past decades. After the crisis in 2008, the BLANK- Group celebrated a roaring 50th anniversary in 2010 which is still vividly remembered by many at BLANK. This was followed in 2010 by the establishment of the BLANK-Foundation to support young adults in the region and a BLANK training center at the Riedlingen site. For the international orientation of the BLANK-Group, FEINGUSS BLANK USA Inc. was founded in 2017 and B² smart precision srl. in Romania was added in 2020.
This time-lapse of history shows: Things are moving at BLANK and the company has been in constant motion and change since its foundation in 1960. “We would like to start 2021 with this positive message,” says Deutsch, “And we would like to take this opportunity to wish our employees, our customers and our business partners all the best for the new year.”