Milestones in the history of the company From 1922 to the year 2022
100 years leave traces
What began 100 years ago in a small workshop has developed into an internationally active group of companies. Many milestones have left their mark on the company's history and ensured that we were able able to celebrate our 100th anniversary in 2022.
Take a journey through the history
Company foundation
Theodor Blumenbecker (born 9 May 1894) and Hans Goeke set up their own business in Beckum. They found an anchor winding shop to repair electric motors and machines and install lighting and power installations.
From fitter to self-employment
The 28-year-old fitter Theodor Blumenbecker from Bochum founds an anchor winding company in Beckum with his colleague at the time, Hans Goeke. The town is not unknown to them. They have been coming to the cement town regularly for years. In the beginning, their employer at the time had the cement industry's electric motors collected from Beckum by horse carriage, repaired in Bochum and brought back to Münsterland on horseback. But since this caused problems when reconnecting the machines, they decided to carry out the repairs and maintenance on site if possible. From that time on, the two were often in Beckum for assembly. From May 1922 they wanted to try it on their own business. "Anchor winding shop to repair electric motors and machines and install light and power systems", is the entry in the trade register.
The hotelier Bernhard Lütke, in whose hotel both stayed during the assembly work, provides them with simple premises as a workshop in the Nordstraße. Theodor falls in love with his daughter Elisabeth Lütke and they married in 1925.
In 1928 Hans Goeke leaves the company again for personal reasons and returns to Bochum.
New business segment and first new building
In the 1930s Theodor Blumenbecker expands his business to include electrical installations in industry and private buildings. To this end, a new residential and commercial building is built in Wilhelmsstraße in Beckum. On the ground floor there is a modern workshop for anchor winders and a showroom for lights and electrical appliances. The official opening takes place in 1939. The workshop in Nordstraße is no longer needed from this point on.
Shortly afterwards, many of the employees are called up for the army. Theodor Blumenbecker himself does not have to serve in the army because he was shot in the lung during the First World War.
Foundation of Dipl. Kfm. M. Blumenbecker KG
In the summer of 1954, Theodor Blumenbecker's daughter Marianne (born 19 July 1926) and her student colleague Dieter Gaul as temporary limited partners, set up an electrical trade with an associated wholesale business in Ahlen.
After graduation into self-employment
Marianne Blumenbecker works in her parents' business in the 1950s while studying business administration and reorganises the administration and accounting. In 1954 she wants to be on her own and founds the Dipl. Kfm. M. Blumenbecker KG in Ahlen.
Her main business is televisions and radios. She also supplies and installs the corresponding antennas. The wholesale business supplies companies with installation material, cables, lights and various appliances. At the beginning, she has one employee and one apprentice. A VW Beetle, from which the seats are removed, serves as the delivery van.
Son Bernhard joins the business
After successfully completing his master craftsman's examinations, Bernhard Blumenbecker (born 28 March 1929) returns to Beckum and starts working in his father's business. There he sets up his first small warehouse for ball bearings.
Children become silent partners
In 1959, Bernhard passed his master craftsman's examination to become an electrical engineer at the master craftsman's school in Oldenburg. A year earlier he had already successfully completed his master's examination as an electrician. In his father's company, apart from setting up the warehouse for ball bearings, he is mainly involved in customer service and sales.
In the meantime, Theodor has taken his children Marianne and Bernhard into the company as silent partners.
Move to Sudhoferweg
A property is acquired in the industrial area on the outskirts of Beckum. At Sudhoferweg 99 - the current headquarters - a large hall with a basement is built with crane facilities, staff rooms and modern workplaces.
Wholesale is established in Wilhelmsstraße
The empty workshop on Wilhelmsstraße is transformed into a shop. A wholesale business for tools and industrial supplies is established here, into the trade in ball bearings is integrated.
For the repair of power tools and small machines, the company sets up its own department on Sudhoferweg with a large spare parts warehouse, testing facilities and special tools. Blumenbecker becomes an authorised workshop for manufacturers such as AEG, FEIN, DEMAG, HIMMELWERK and others.
Production for switchgears is founded
Marianne Blumenbecker discovers a new, promising field of business: electrical engineering. She expands her business in Ahlen to include an engineering office and a manufacturing operation for switchgears.
Merger of the existing companies
Th. Blumenbecker KG (Beckum) and Dipl. Kfm. M. Blumenbecker KG (Ahlen) merge into Blumenbecker KG (Beckum). The new common headquarters of the company is Sudhoferweg 99 in Beckum. The new company has six departments at the time.
One year earlier, on 16 January 1965, Theodor Blumenbecker dies at the age of 70.
First location outside Beckum
In January 1969, the company buys a small anchor winding shop in Iserlohn.
At the end of the 1960s, another property is purchased in Beckum on Sudhoferweg. Next to the anchor winding shop, a 900 m² hall is built for the locksmith's shop and the wiring of the control cabinets.
Astrid Blumenbecker is born
Astrid Blumenbecker the daughter of Bernhard and Gisela Blumenbecker, is born on 6 January 1969. Astrid Blumenbecker is the majority shareholder up to the current day.
Enlargement in Wilhelmstraße
After one year of construction, the company moves into a new building in Wilhelmstraße. The administration, the IT department and the expansion of the tool wholesale business are located there. A toy retail shop is opened on the ground floor, run by Gisela Blumenbecker, Bernhard Blumenbecker's wife.
Rapid growth of the tool wholesale business
After only four years, in 1977, the tool wholesale business moves from Wilhelmstraße to a former production hall in Siemensstraße. The exhibition and storage space is more than twice as large. The relocation enables the toy retailer to expand and, with over 500 m² of sales space, it is one of the largest in the area. Blumenbecker has a total of three locations in Beckum now.
In August 1988, the toy retail business is sold in order to focus on the core business.
Further expansion and restructuring
The company divides to form Blumenbecker KG as the owning company and B+M Blumenbecker GmbH as the operating company.
The rented premises in Iserlohn are given up in 1981. Instead, the company builds an 800 m² tool store on Baarstraße in Iserlohn. In the basement of the building, the anchor winding shop gets modern workplaces with crane systems.
Foundation of new business areas
The business units Special Machinery (aerial work platforms and airport ground support equipment) in Beckum and Induction Systems in Iserlohn are founded. Further buildings are constructed at Sudhofweg.
Business activities centre at Sudhoferweg
The switchgear construction on Sudhoferweg has to be expanded again in 1986. A connecting building with technical offices and a hall for research and development are added. At the same time, 2,100 m² of prefabricated space is built in record time for the tool wholesale business. Now that all operations are united at Sudhoferweg, the buildings on Siemensstraße can be sold. The company premises on Sudhoferweg now cover 16,000 m², with 6,900 m² of built-up area. But in 1987 the open space already begins to shrink further. The anchor winding shop is given a porch as a loading station, a two-storey warehouse for spare parts storage and its own offices.
After 10 years, in 1996, the induction systems division in Iserlohn is closed down.
Honour for Marianne Blumenbecker
In March 1987, Marianne Blumenbecker is awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in the Estates Hall of the City of Beckum, for her commitment to the education of young people, among other things. This issue was always very important to both her and her brother Bernhard.
In the same year, she receives a certificate from the former Chancellor Helmut Kohl for her commitment to the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses.
New engineering office in Dortmund
Blumenbecker opens an engineering office in the Technology Centre in Dortmund. One of the larger projects is the integrated material flow technology for the "Factory 2000". The control centre, which controls all the machines and crane systems, comes from Blumenbecker.
Booming year
1990 is the most successful year in the company's history. The turnover increases by 12 million DM to 55 million DM within one year. The workforce grows to over 300 employees, about half of whom work in the control technology department.
The anchor winding shop moves into a basement extension with 10-tonne cranes for the repair of large machines. An impregnation and painting facility is installed and a tiled washroom and tear-off room for windings are built.
First business activities in Eastern Germany
After the reunification, a contact is established to Agrodienst GmbH in Schafstädt. Special platforms for mounting on buses are designed and manufactured there on a trial basis. Masts and other steel components for lifting platforms are also manufactured in eastern Germany and assembled in Beckum. In 1991 Blumenbecker officially takes over Agrodienst GmbH and founds Blumenbecker Technik GmbH in Schafstädt.
In the same year, Blumenbecker Technik establishes a service station for crane maintenance and electrical installations in Rüdersdorf near Berlin, close to the large cement plant.
The 2nd generation retire
Marianne and Bernhard Blumenbecker retire from active management of the company. From this point on, the operational business is entrusted to external people outside the family. However, Marianne takes over the chairmanship of the advisory board of Blumenbecker GmbH und Co. KG, which was set up a few years earlier.
In 1996, she set up the non-profit Marianne Blumenbecker Foundation, which today holds 40% of the shares of the company group. The foundation supports various projects from the region.
Five years later, on 1 December 1999, Bernhard Blumenbecker dies at the age of 70.
Start of internationalisation
Blumenbecker Prag s.r.o (Czech Republic) is the first company that is established outside Germany. The first contacts were made in Prague as early as 1990, so that projects could be carried out together with engineers from there. The orders are primarily for services in the field of drive technology. The clients are companies such as Siemens and ABB.
New business field: industrial robotics
In addition to drive technology, the company also takes over the national representation of Rittal components in the Czech Republic in Prague.
In 1997, the company enters the field of robotics. The first customer is the car manufacturer Skoda, which has just been bought by VW. VW is pushing to use more robots in production. To this day, trade, drive technology and robotics are part of Blumenbecker Prag s.r.o.'s core business.
Establishment of independent companies
Beginning in 2001, the individual business units are transformed into independent companies. In 2001, for example, the wholesale business for tools and industrial supplies became Blumenbecker Industriebedarf GmbH.
In 2004 Blumenbecker Industrie-Service GmbH was formed from the repair and industrial maintenance business.
In the same year, the control technology and process automation division becomes Blumenbecker Automatisierungstechnik GmbH. The parent company B+M Blumenbecker GmbH takes over the central functions of accounting, balance sheet accounting, controlling, human resources, communications, IT and infrastructure for all subsidiaries.
International growth
With the separation, the expansion abroad begins and various companies are founded in the following years:
- (2001) Blumenbecker Slovakia s.r.o. in Malacky (Slovakia)
- (2003) Blumenbecker (Shanghai) Automation Systems Co., Ltd. in Shanghai (China)
- (2004) Blumenbecker Polska Sp. z o.o. in Katowice (Poland)
- (2006) Blumenbecker US INC. in Stillwater/Minnesota (USA)
- (2006) Blumenbecker Engineering Polska Sp. z o.o. in Katowice (Poland)
- (2008) Blumenbecker Handel i Serwis Sp. z o.o. in Katowice (Poland)
- (2008) Blumenbecker 000 in Moscow (Russia)
- (2010) Blumenbecker KAT Automation Private Ltd. in Pune (Joint Venture in India)
New central warehouse for industrial supplies in Soest
In 2003, Blumenbecker Industriebedarf GmbH takes over the business activities of the Beilke company in Soest. Beilke has seven more branches. This abruptly increases the trading area for the wholesale business. The new central warehouse for industrial supplies is also set up in Soest.
Development of a new corporate design
In 2010, a fundamentally new corporate design is introduced. The basis is a customer and employee survey conducted across all companies. A new logo replaces the old one, a new corporate typeface is established and the brand core is created. The logo represents the fact that Blumenbecker passes on some of its expertise and know-how to its customers and lets them benefit from it. In this way, Blumenbecker focuses on its partnership approach to its customers.
Mission statement being developed
Already in February 2009, several employees from the national and international companies and different positions meet to work intensively on a mission statement. Together they develop twelve tailor-made guiding principles for the whole group of companies. These are adopted at the end of 2009.
The 12 guiding principles are:
- An independent, traditional and forward-looking family-owned company
- Decentralised managment - central steering
- A one-stop shop for technical solutions
- Long-term partnership with customers
- Dealing fairly with suppliers and competitors
- Profit as the basis for growth
- Openness to change
- Leadership by example and responsibility for staff
- Promoting and supporting individual responsibility and personal development
- Achieving more through cooperation
- Job security, conservation of resources and environmental protection
- Observing the law and being socially responsible
Largest single investment
On 20 December 2013, the building of a modern, 8,000 m² production hall for switchedgear cabinets with connected offices begins on a newly acquired property on Sudhoferweg. This is the largest single investment in the history of the Blumenbecker Group. On 19 September 2014, the new production hall was officially inaugurated at a ceremony attended by NRW Prime Minister Hannelore Kraft.
After the switchgear construction business moves to the new hall, the space that is now available is converted into the central warehouse for industrial supplies, which is relocated from Soest to Beckum.
Internationally, the switchgear construction business is also expanding. Further production halls will be opened in Tianjin (China) and Pune (India) in 2014.
Marianne Blumenbecker dies in 2015
Marianne Blumenbecker is no longer able to attend the opening ceremony of the new production hall in Beckum. One year later, on 17 August 2015, she dies at the age of 89. Gisela Blumenbecker dies in April 2015 at the age of 85.
Start of several digitisation projects
Digitalisation is making its way into all business areas. An internal project group consisting of all companies meets regularly in workshops to push forward the developments of the individual companies together. The most important digitalisation projects are presented to the public at an in-house exhibition with NRW Minister of Economic Affairs Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart as guest. The production of switchgears in Beckum is digitalised as far as possible and thus becomes paperless. The Industrial-Service establishes a customer portal with which the inspection status of service objects can be monitored. In the airport ground support equipment sector, Blumenbecker is developing a GSE tracking system.
New three-person management team
From January 2019, the Blumenbecker Group's fortunes will be managed by a team of three. The two operational managing directors Olaf Lingnau (left in the picture) and Harald Golombek (right in the picture) will form the management team of the holding company B+M Blumenbecker GmbH from now on together with the spokesman of the management, Richard Mayer (centre in the picture).
100th company anniversary
The Blumenbecker Group is celebrating its 100th anniversary. More than 1,200 employees in eight countries at over 30 locations ensure customer satisfaction every day - and that in many countries around the world.
The message of the 100 years logo
"The total is more than the sum of its parts." Blumenbecker provides more than the single service of an individual order. Our strength comes from our diversity. We work in different areas of expertise but always together. Whether industrial automation, industrial trade or industrial service - together we grow with each other, complement each other and create synergies. We concentrate our competences and pass them to our customers. This is what makes us and our services distinctive.
Photovoltaic system and ISO 27701 certificate
In August 2023, the first photovoltaic system will be put into operation at the headquarters in Beckum. The 234 panels were installed on the roof of the switchgear production hall.
On 30 November 2023, Blumenbecker was certified to ISO 27701 for information security for the first time.
The new managing director
Caren Borges is appointed Managing Director of B+M Blumenbecker GmbH and the other German companies with effect from 14 October 2024. She will also assume the role of Spokesperson of the Management Board, replacing Richard Mayer, who will retire at the end of 2024. Caren Borges will represent the Blumenbecker Group together with the two other managing directors Harald Golombek and Olaf Lingnau.