Zimmermann (piano manufacturer)
Zimmermann (founded by Max and Richard Zimmermann as Gebr. Zimmermann , later Leipziger Pianoforte-Fabrik Gebr. Zimmermann Aktiengesellschaft ) was a manufacturer of pianos , initially in Leipzig , then in Mölkau near Leipzig, later in Eilenburg and Seifhennersdorf , and at times also in Dresden -Cotta were built. Zimmermann was at times the largest piano manufacturer in Europe, but suffered setbacks from the First World War, the Great Depression of 1929 and the Second World War. In the GDR the company existed as a state-owned company .
In 1992, the C. Bechstein piano factory took over the company and its remaining factory in Seifhennersdorf. Bechstein continued the Zimmermann brand. Bechstein has had Zimmermann instruments produced in China since 2013.
history
Prehistory and foundation
The brothers Max and Richard Zimmermann learned the carpentry trade in their father's workshop in Leipzig. Max Zimmermann then worked for the piano makers August Hermann Francke (Leipzig), Robert Seitz (Leipzig), Philippi Frères (Frankfurt am Main) and Steinway & Sons (Hamburg). Theodor Steinweg sent the talented young man from Hamburg to New York , where he worked as a voicer in Steinway Hall .
In 1884 Max and Richard Zimmermann founded their own piano factory under the name Gebr. Zimmermann in Alexanderstraße in Leipzig. In 1890 the company opened a shop on Zeitzer Strasse in Leipzig, and in 1892 they opened a new factory in Mölkau near Leipzig.
Corporation
In 1895 the piano factory employed 120 skilled workers. In that year the corporate form changed to a stock corporation, which was accompanied by the renaming to Leipziger Pianoforte-Fabrik Gebr. Zimmermann Aktiengesellschaft .
In 1904 the Zimmermann brothers from Leipzig settled in Eilenburg to found a piano factory. They built, the factory halls in bankruptcy previous calico Ehrenberg and judges from the north of the city (Jacobsplatz) with a high investment cost for the manufacturing of pianos. The branch had a production capacity of 10,000 pianos a year.
The factory in Seifhennersdorf was opened in 1911 . In an advertisement from the period between 1911 and 1914, the location Eilenburg was added to the company name, which was now the de facto main location. With an annual production of 12,000 pianos and 1,400 employees, the company has now succeeded in becoming Europe's largest piano manufacturer. With 700 employees in Eilenburg, the company was the second largest employer in the city in 1914 after the German Celluloid Factory (DCF).
First World War
During the First World War , there was also a switch to war production here. The now mostly female workforce produced ammunition boxes. In 1917 the main office was relocated from Mölkau to downtown Leipzig (Neumarkt 5). In the same year the supervisory board reported: “Despite the lively demand for our products”, production had to be restricted, “we are maintaining the plants in Mölkau and Eilenburg with the workforce still available to us; operations in Seifhennersdorf are almost completely idle ”.
1919 to 1945
| 1908 | 400 |
| 1914 | 700 |
| 1925 | 750 |
| 1931 | 180 |
| 1932 | 2 |
After the end of the war, the production of pianos began again in small numbers. In 1920 Triumphatorwerk GmbH, a manufacturer of mechanical calculating machines, took over the building of the factory in Mölkau and moved there with around 400 employees. The Pianoforte-Fabrik Zimmermann was listed in the Leipzig address book with the address in Mölkau until 1925.
The Zimmermann brothers acquired the former court brewery in Dresden-Cotta and converted it into a piano factory. The branch in Dresden was entered in the commercial register in 1923. In 1925, a steam sawmill in Landau an der Isar was purchased to relieve the steam sawmills in the factories in Eilenburg, Dresden and Seifhennersdorf. The number of pianos produced increased again, but the company also began manufacturing furniture.
In 1926 4,500 instruments were built. In that year the Zimmermann brothers merged with Ludwig Hupfeld AG from Böhlitz-Ehrenberg near Leipzig. This again created the largest piano factory in Europe. From then on, the company operated under the name Leipziger Pianoforte- und Phonola-Fabriken Hupfeld-Gebr. Zimmermann AG Eilenburg . As a result of the merger, four more production facilities were added to the carpenter's factories, including factories in Böhlitz-Ehrenberg and Johanngeorgenstadt .
In January 1929 there was a major fire in the Eilenburg plant, which could only be extinguished with the help of the Leipzig fire brigade . The global economic crisis that began in October of the same year hit the company badly. At the beginning of 1931 the Eilenburg plant was closed and production relocated to Seifhennersdorf. The branch factories in Dresden and Johanngeorgenstadt existed until 1933.
From 1932 to 1937, the NSDAP's labor camp 3/14 was located in the Eilenburg factory halls . After this moved out, Hupfeld-Zimmermann AG returned in 1937. Wood and metal processing took place in what is now Plant 4. War production was also used during the Second World War . On April 13, 1945, all remaining employees of the Hupfeld-Zimmermann company in Eilenburg were dismissed.
publicly-owned business
In 1946 the company was nationalized as VEB Sächsische Pianofortefabrik Seifhennersdorf . The Zimmermann factory in Seifhennersdorf once again became one of the largest piano manufacturers in Europe with a production of up to 8000 instruments per year and exports to 35 countries. The Hupfeld brand was meanwhile being produced in Leipzig. In 1967 the two works and brands were subordinated to the VEB Deutsche Piano-Union Leipzig , whereby the Zimmermann brand was retained. From 1975 the simple model series 105 V was also offered, the housing of which was made of local woods and simple shapes. A concentration on the medium to high-priced segment followed again later.
Takeover by Bechstein
In 1992 the C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik took over the company and relocated its own German production to Seifhennersdorf. Up until 2011, Zimmermann piano models by Bechstein were also produced here, at that time in the middle price segment and with the brand name Zimmermann made by C. Bechstein, Germany .
Bechstein has had Zimmermann instruments manufactured in China since 2013, now as a low-priced product range for beginners under the Zimmermann brand name designed by C. Bechstein . In its piano factory in the metropolis of Ningbo , district of Beilun , the Chinese company Hailun Piano builds Zimmermann instruments in addition to its own product range on behalf of and under the supervision of C. Bechstein. At the moment (2019) Bechstein offers three piano models under the brand name Zimmermann , as well as three grand piano models with lengths of 160 cm, 175 cm and 185 cm.
Web links
- Gebr. Zimmermann AG dieter-gocht.de
- The manufacturer of self-playing musical instruments in Leipzig from 1876 to 1930 - Zimmermann, Gebr. Mfm.uni-leipzig.de
Zimmermann as a brand from C. Bechstein
- Pianos from Zimmermann bechstein.com
- Product brochure , status 2019 (PDF), with a review of the history of Zimmermann
- Exploring Zimmermann Pianos image film by C. Bechstein on the production of Zimmermann instruments in China (English), 8:30 min.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Gebr. Zimmermann AG in: Dieter Gocht's Klaviersaiten, data archive of piano construction
- ↑ a b c Zimmermann grand pianos and pianos product brochure, status 2019 (PDF), p. 7.
- ^ Wolfgang Beuche: The industrial history of Eilenburg Part I, 1803-1950 , p. 44, Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-5843-7
- ↑ Triumphator-Werk robotrontechnik.de
- ↑ Small exhibition "Historical Office Technology": Triumphator C stb-betzwieser.de
- ^ Zimmermann, Gebr. Museum for Musical Instruments of the University of Leipzig
- ↑ Erratum to Part VI of the Eilenburg industrial history . In: Der Sorbenturm - Eilenburger Lesebuch , Volume 5, Verlag für die Heimat, Eilenburg 2008, p. 92.
- ↑ Bechstein tradition: 2005 to today bechstein.com
- ↑ C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik AG: Annual Report 2013 (PDF), pp. 23 and 25.
- ↑ Zimmermann grand pianos and pianos product brochure, status 2019 (PDF), p. 9 and 11.
- ↑ Hailun Piano Homepage (English), see below the Zimmermann brand under Partners and the address in Beilun District, Ningbo City.
- ↑ Exploring Zimmermann Pianos image film by C. Bechstein on the production and quality control of Zimmermann pianos in China (English). The location in Ningbo-Beilun is mentioned initially (0:25 to 0:29).
- ↑ Grand pianos: Zimmermann. C. Bechstein, accessed September 5, 2019 .