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Taking up the Gauntlet: following the buyback of family stock in 1995, it''s been a heady run for Blommer Chocolate Co., with the third generation stepping in and demonstrating its enthusiasm and resolve.

Article Excerpt
Peter Blommer, chief operating officer of Blommer Chocolate Co., could see that there was some initial confusion on the interviewer's part when he began talking about the third generation of Blommers and their responsibilities within the company.

Taking out a sheet of paper, Peter quickly sketched out the family business tree, placing founder Henry Blommer, together with his brothers Bern and Al on top. From there, he drew four lines, Peter H., Hank, Joe and Ann.

Under Peter H.'s name, he printed "board only" in parentheses. Under Hank's name, he drew three lines, with the names Peter, Tori and Steve underneath. Under Joe's name, he continued the lineage by drawing a line and the name Rick. And under Ann's name, he inked another line with the name Peter Drake underneath.

The drawing certainly simplified the organizational structure that today effectively runs the Chicago-based supplier of chocolate and chocolate products, the largest processor of cocoa beans in North America and the fourth largest globally

And while the diagram quickly explained the family lineage involved with the business, it really didn't do justice in telling the story behind the dynamic growth of this 64-year-old U.S. chocolate processor.

Anyone who's earned his or her stripes in the domestic chocolate business knows the story of Henry Blommer, and how his determination and pluck established a business during the early years following the Depression.

That legacy was turned over to his sons Hank and Joe, entrepreneurs who steadily built up a business that was founded on customer service and operational excellence. Despite undergoing a traumatic sell-off of family shares in 1992 (Hank and Joe discovered the day after their father died that family members had sold 42% of stock and 50% of Class A voting shares to Cargill, thereby facilitating a possible takeover by the food conglomerate), Hank and Joe were able to eventually convince Cargill's senior managers that the family was committed to running the business and would never sell the remaining shares. Such determination led to an eventual buyback and set Blommer on its present double-digit growth path.

It also provided Hank and Joe, chairman/ceo and president of the company, respectively, with the first signs of what the two family patriarchs could expect from the third generation.

As Hank Blommer reflects, "Whenever you have a family business, you always wonder what you've got to work with as far as the next generation of family members running the business is concerned. Are they spoiled? Do they have fire in their bellies? Are they up to the task? When I look at what we have in place now, that really excites me. I think the sky's the limit."

Such optimism doesn't stem from sheer familial fondness. Rather, the assessment comes...

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