New Delhi [India], July 14: A major free trade agreement concluded between India and the European Union quickly sparked a fresh wave of business moves. Capitalising on these major diplomatic shifts, the Blum Group’s global leadership travelled to India to secure the Austrian brand’s long-term commercial goals inside the country’s expanding economic landscape.
Austrian Federal Chancellor Dr Christian Stocker came over to India for an official trade visit. Blum Group’s Managing Director, Martin Blum, and Maarten de Vries, Regional Director for Blum Asia Pacific, travelled directly as part of his official business delegation to represent Blum as this new phase between the two countries began. The team hit a major high point when Martin Blum joined Federal Chancellor Dr Christian Stocker to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This visit comes after Philipp Blum, also a Managing Director of the Blum Group, travelled to India in 2025. His initial travel focused on setting up the groundwork to reinforce the brand’s local position. While Blum was already operating from a strong, established position in India well before this year’s delegation arrived, this April itinerary actively builds upon that existing foundation. Elevating this partnership further, the executive team also joined the India–Austria Business Forum and held talks with the Ministry of Commerce.
“Every generation has its own challenges and chances. For us, it is about valuing what happened in the past because we are very thankful for this strong generational foundation that we can build on,” said Martin Blum. “That stability is why we look at India for the long run. Our focus goes far beyond the next few years; we are building a partnership that Indian families can rely on for generations. The idea is that when someone buys Blum fittings, they know they’re going to last for the lifetime of the furniture. Quality and reliability are simply in our DNA.”
Blum is backing this regional growth with permanent structural investments into a comprehensive domestic network. The company is establishing a nationwide system of Experience Centres, Solutions Centres and Inspiration Centres, expanding after-sales service, and running dedicated training hubs for Indian furniture makers and design professionals. These Blum centres serve as interactive spaces where the local furniture industry and everyday furniture users can engage directly with Blum’s quality innovations and services.
Maarten de Vries currently manages local operations as the acting managing director of Blum India, conducting monthly visits to oversee this scaling. Reflecting on the week-long mission, de Vries highlighted the country’s extraordinary development pace.
“India is developing heavily,” said Maarten de Vries. “We focus on listening very carefully to find out what our customers actually need. Value is different for everyone. We take our wide range of products and tailor them down to meet those individual needs to truly serve the Indian market.”
The trade itinerary also included a stop at Blum’s Mumbai office, hosting Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer, Austrian Federal Minister for Economy, Energy and Tourism, alongside Austrian Ambassador to India, Robert Zischg. This gave the regional staff an ideal opportunity to introduce the delegates to their “Orange Heartbeat”—the distinct company culture, internal drive, and passion for precision manufacturing that underpins their hardware.
Blum aims to integrate its Austrian engineering background directly into local households, establishing a lasting footprint in how people set up their living environments. The objective is to make certain Blum stays a reliable staple inside Indian residences for decades. As Martin Blum noted, the goal is simply to deliver a better quality of living that makes life better for years to come.
Blum – The World’s Leading Manufacturer of Furniture Fittings from Austria
We produce lift, hinge, drawer, pocket systems and motion technologies for furniture.Complemented by assembly devices and services.In line with our philosophy of global customer benefits, everyone should benefit from Blum products – from manufacturers and distributors to furniture fitters and end consumers.Blum has implemented numerous sustainability initiatives to reduce its environmental footprint – certified to ISO-14001 since 1997.
- The company was founded in Höchst, Austria by Julius Blum in 1952.
- 12 production plants in Austria, Poland, the USA, Brazil and China.
- More than 30 subsidiaries and representative offices.
- With more than 2,100 patents worldwide.
- Customers in over 120 markets on every continent.
- 9,850 employees around the globe.
- Over 600 kitchen observations carried out so far in more than 30 countries.
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