COMPANY - Blaj - vijaki, matice, stružni deli, puše

THE REASON WE DO WHAT WE DO?

Anton Blaj has stood for engineering performance and reliability for five decades. As a long-standing manufacturer of complex fasteners, we haveestablished ourselves as a reliable partner. Thanks to traditional knowledge, together with state-of-the-art technology and developments, we have been able to integrate quality awareness into our working methods. Our company's market position and global competitiveness are based on the production of highly specialised screws that are subjected to high stress loads. Controlling the associated risks is of the utmost importance. We have built our own brand, which stands for quality and reliability throughout Europe. The strength of our family business has been instilled in the reliability of our promises – we keep them!

Fasteners, which are manufactured in an environment characterised by a strong engineering culture and innovation, are built to last. Since 2017, a sustainable business strategy, the commitment of the owners, management and key professionals has translated into sustainable success. "I've always wanted great employees, because I believe that's the only way to be truly competitive in the international market," said Anton Blaj.

"The feeling that we can do something to make the world a better place motivates me a lot," said Petra Blaj.

In 2022, Anton Blaj won the gold award in sustainability in the EcoVadis Sustainability Ratings.

Our vision

The Anton Blaj company vision is to become one of the leading European manufacturers of dynamic load carrying fasteners. Every year we take on and pursue new goals to improve our competitiveness:

Business growth by accessing new final customers
Better visibility of the company within the European market
Enhanced Productivity
Optimized purchasing
Lower operating costs

Our mission

Our fasteners are designed to guarantee a long service life of complex machines and devices. Safe and long-term operation of devices equipped with Blaj bolts is essential, as they have a considerable impact on the environment and people. Thus, it is extremely important to ensure the quality and integrity of bolts. Our desire is to maintain a close relationship with the environment in which we operate through our business achievements. We are driven by the values of growth and development, with a particular focus on the quality, defined by:

responsibility,
sustainability,
agility and
passion.

Company profile:

Company name: ANTON BLAJ d.o.o

Company headquarters: Griže 9, 3302 Griže, Slovenija

Registration number: 649848

VAT ID: SI 28251571

Registration authority: Celje District Court

IBAN: SI56 0400 1004 9240 681

SWIFT/BIC CODE: KBMASI2X

Nova Kreditna banka Maribor d.d., Ulica Vita Kraigherja 4, 2000 Maribor, SLO

FAMILY COMPANY

Blaj Fasteners is a family business in heart and soul. "Family businesses are a leading force in the global economy. The greatest advantage of a family business is that the family members are willing to invest everything, including time, knowledge, energy and financial resources, in the business. "You have to love screws" was the motto of the founder Anton Blaj. He was convinced that this was the only way to produce a truly high-quality product. Blaj is synonymous with a family business, as almost all members of the extended family are involved. But the cohesion between family members and non-family members is also extremely important for us."

"In the Slovenian economy, where 83 % of all companies are family-run, they are certainly not heard enough," says Petra Blaj.

What were the biggest successful moments for your company in the past year? What achievements are you particularly proud of?

Our vision is to become one of the leading manufacturers of dynamically loaded fasteners in Europe. We are pursuing this vision every step of the way. We have acquired new end customers, increased both the company's recognition in the European market and our productivity as well as optimised purchasing processes and reduced operating costs. We are committed to a sustainable transformation of the company and are therefore proud that our development strategy is already based on environmentally friendly technologies. We invest in processes that further promote the advantages of our company: Modernising production, developing expertise among employees and optimising logistics. We are proud to have been certified as a family-friendly company, to have strengthened our internal communication and relationships and to have successfully managed all the changes in the market.

What are your plans for the future and how will you implement them?

We will continue to pursue our vision, mission and goals both sustainably and digitally. We will take another important step towards Industry 4.0 by digitising our production and other processes. We have the will, the courage, the knowledge and the cutting-edge technology to continue to be a major player in the global fastener market.

HISTORY

1966

The tradition of the Blaj family company reaches back half a century. In 1966, Anton Blaj, an electric engineer, set out to manufacture bolts. In the mid-1990s he launched the sole proprietorship ANTON BLAJ, s. p., and expanded the production of standard bolts from the local market to the international market
1991

Fall of the socialist system and legislation of the Profit and Business Investments financial category. Entry into the German market.
2000

Our company continued to manufacture standard bolts under other brand names, for wholesalers and end customers, and in the process acquired valuable experience and know-how. The transition into the new millennium was marked by major investment in technology, equipment and training of staff. We set up a new quality strategy. At the same time, we obtained the AD 2000 Merkblatt certificate and achieved a breakthrough in the production of high-end bolts.
2000

In the following years, we purchased a tensile testing machine, set up an in-house laboratory and started to issue certificates. In cooperation with research organisations, we renovated our hot forging bolt production process and actively entered the market of custom-made bolts and machinery construction. In 2013, one of our major customers honoured us with a quality award.
2014

A year later, we reincorporated as a limited liability company and Anton’s daughter Petra, Master of Economics, took over as manager. This period was also marked by a number of investments in automation, robotic process automation, control equipment and staff training – in line with our vision to become a leading European manufacturer of special, dynamic load carrying fasteners.
2017

Sustainability: a new word for what we have been doing all along. Selected among nine Slovenian companies as a member of the Academy for establishing sustainable business models in practice. Implementation of theISO14001 standard.
2018

Awarded by the SPIRIT Slovenia Business Development Agency for establishing sustainable business models in practice.
2019

Implementation of a paperless office programme // Purchase of land in the degraded zone of Garant Polzela and thus the first step towards moving to a new location.
2020

Implementation of the ISO 45001 standard and Certificate of Family-Friendly Company // Digitalization of quality control // Annual Interviews.
2021

Established the 5S system for organisation of spaces // Reorganisation of job instructions // Upgrade of machining equipment // Establishing strategy // Development of ABV – The bolt of the future // Establishing a mentorship model.
2021

Presented as good practice at EXPO Dubai Vorgestellt als gute Praxis auf der EXPO Dubai At Expo2020 in Dubai, Slovenia presented itself as a green, innovative, research-oriented country whose development and future are based on sustainability. The practices and solutions of Blaj Fasteners were introduced as part of the Expo2020 exhibition. Auf der Expo2020 in Dubai präsentierte sich Slowenien als ein grünes, innovatives und forschungsorientiertes Land, dessen Entwicklung und Zukunft auf Nachhaltigkeit beruht. Die Verfahren und Lösungen von Blaj FASTENERS wurden im Rahmen der Expo2020-Ausstellung vorgestellt.
2022

Golden EcoVadis certificate. We have been awarded a gold-medal for sustainability in the EcoVadis sustainability ranking. We are ranked among the top 5% of companies in their industry. EcoVadis is an independent international organization that evaluates, scores, and ranks companies by the integration of sustainability issues in their business activities. // We use 100% recycled material.
2027

11% reduction of raw materials consumption (Fe-steel rods) per product unit.
2030

Blaj’s commitment to sustainability: 55% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.