Kemble and Co Ltd Press release 30 April 2009

[Barrie Heaton]

Kemble and Co Ltd Press release 30 April 2009

After much consideration and consultation and as the result of its review of its global manufacturing strategy, Yamaha Corporation of Japan regretfully has concluded that the Kemble factory in Milton Keynes will be closing later this year. “ As the market place for mid range pianos comes under increasing pressure, and in order to improve our long term competitiveness, the best solution is to fully utilise our manufacturing capacity in other locations, where we have invested to create probably the most advanced piano factories in the world .

Of course Yamaha is very sorry to have to lose the dedicated and committed staff at Kemble’s and we will be doing all that is possible to help them. Kemble staff have made an essential contribution to the company and their efforts are very much appreciated and this has made this decision even harder to make. The plan now is to continue to manufacture Yamaha P range and Kemble pianos in the UK until October to ensure a smooth transition but after that the company will be closed.

From November, the Yamaha and Kemble pianos will be supplied from other Yamaha factories. Both ranges will continue to have the high specifications as currently and we will focus our attention to retain the tradition of the Kemble brand and its characteristic mellow European sound and cabinet designs.”


Sales of Kemble pianos will also continue under the current procedure until then; whilst thereafter all warranty work will be guaranteed by Yamaha. The final decision on the distribution of Kemble pianos will be confirmed in May, and Kemble and Co and Yamaha Corporation of Japan are working together to find the best way for a seamless transfer so as not to damage business.

Following this decision the Board of Kemble and Co met and formally approved the closure plan.

Brian Kemble MBE, Joint Managing Director of Kemble and Co , and grandson of the founder, said “ it is a very sad day for my staff, the Kemble family and for manufacturing in UK. During the 1980’s recession Yamaha rode to our rescue, and thanks to them we have continued manufacturing for another 23 years – we owe Yamaha a huge debt of gratitude for this, and can say proudly that we succeeded in manufacturing pianos in UK for over 98 years. Since 1986 when Yamaha became involved we have made and sold over 120000 pianos- a performance I believe which puts us right at the top of European manufacturers. Indeed, we won the Queen’s Award for Export Achievement in 1992. We have worked hard to maintain manufacturing in the UK into the 21st century-introducing lean manufacturing techniques, investing in modern machinery, moving upmarket and focusing on good quality and good design. Indeed, despite the very tough economic climate, sales of our Kemble pianos actually increased last year, benefiting from our growing reputation for quality and value, and by an improvement in competitiveness owing to the fall in the value of sterling.

However, to manufacture pianos successfully in Europe you need to either have a factory producing high volume or be making a very high end niche product. I fully understand Yamaha’s decision, and thank them for the generosity they have shown our staff. I am delighted that Yamaha will continue our brand into the future .

My heart goes out to all my staff members who are losing their jobs in such difficult economic times. We are doing our best to give them support and help them get back into the job market. I have worked with many of them for over 30 years- I wish them all well. Production will continue here until the end of October.”

Kemble pianos will continue to have their current high specifications including a German spruce soundboard , and our characteristic mellow European sound and cabinet designs will be maintained.

Every effort will be made to keep the Kemble uniqueness in future products so there will still be a clear product differentiation. As far as Kemble dealers are concerned, the existing dealer network will continue to be supported, which , in many cases, is different from the Yamaha network.

“2011 will be the centenary of Kemble- sadly the pianos will not be able to be made in the UK for this, but by continuing the Kemble brand, and by creating pianos that are faithful to our tradition and heritage, and ones that, we hope will exceed the expectations and wishes of our customers , we would have succeeded in maintaining something worthwhile- a name that stands for craftsmanship and integrity, British design, and a beautiful mellow sound.”

For any further comments/questions please contact Mr Brian Kemble (brian.kemble@gmx.yamaha.com) 01908 371771

[chrisvenables]

A sad day indeed, especially for the 100 staff who lose their jobs.

There's a lot to discuss in that press release, but my main concern apart from the job issue, is the guarantee question relating to the unique case parts and soundboards in UK built Kemble/Yamahas. Their remaining factories which supply the UK are in Indonesia and Japan (USA and Taiwan have closed also) They use different soundboard wood and have different wood veneers and finishes. British cabinet making is world reknowned and many of the UK built Kemble/Yamahas use woods and finishes of a different grade/colour and finish to those made outside the UK.

OK, it is good that Yamaha will honour the guarantee on Kembles and Kemble built Yamahas, but in the possible, (not probable), event of needing to replace one of the above components, such as a new toe block, in dark American walnut, satin alder, beech, cherry or maple, or a new Bavarian Strunz soundboard, how will the part be sourced and if it's a job for a factory repair, where and by whom will the work be done?

Perhaps 'athomic' (Adrian of Yamaha) can clarify that point.

[athomik]

I don't have any details about what exactly will happen after October, but I do have a few thoughts on what may happen.
As Brian Kemble mentioned in his statement, the materials for Kemble pianos, such as the sound board will continue to come from the same sources as are used at the moment. Unless Yamaha take over any remaining parts stock, spares parts would be sourced from the facility producing Kemble pianos, probably via Japan. With regard to warranty repairs, Yamaha do very few piano repairs in-house and rely on outside dealers/technicians to carry out the work. This is largely due to logistics, as it is usually not economic to transport pianos back to Yamaha, and transporting pianos always involves the risk of further damage. I suspect that this will apply to Kemble pianos in the future. With regard to the quality of future pianos and parts, in the 1980s, Yamaha was heavily involved in restructuring the production facility at Kembles as well as training staff, so I can see no reason why they can't continue the same standards at the new production facility. Considering the way Eterna pianos were handled and the fact that this decision was made on economic grounds, I can't see Yamaha spending a load of money on setting up a completley separate distribution, supply and support chain for Kemble pianos.

I would also expect that any electronic faults on silent or any other, future type of hybrid Kemble pianos which may appear, and which are covered by warranty would end up as my resposibility. Since the electronic parts for Kemble pianos are produced by Yamaha in Japan anyway, parts supply and service would be handled in exactly the same way as for Yamaha pianos at the moment.

Then again, could be barking up the completly wrong tree.

[Barrie Heaton]

The last Kemble piano left today
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8326426.stm

Barrie,

[joseph]

It's such a shame that we aren't producing pianos anymore. Even if the last ones were essentially Japanese pianos assembled here, they were still nice and folk still had a job.

I wonder, will anyone ever make a piano in the UK again?

[Barrie Heaton]

It's such a shame that we aren't producing pianos anymore. Even if the last ones were essentially Japanese pianos assembled here, they were still nice and folk still had a job.

I wonder, will anyone ever make a piano in the UK again?

Broadwood pianos are now make in the UK but only to order no production plant just done like the old days small workshops turning out 1 - 15 pianos a year

Barrie,

[NewAge]

Reading Barrie's comments on the last Kemble piano leaving the factory, had me wondering about the future of the French piano manufacturing industry.
Pleyel still offer a number of highly priced grands -especially 'designer' pianos, and I believe a handful of uprights from their Saint-Denis plant north of Paris.
Would like to try one of their new pianos one day, but would have to visit their showroom in central Paris for this.

[Barrie Heaton]

All the makers in Europe are having problem from S&S on a 3 day week to Schimmel who have the bailiffs knocking at the door.

In Kembes case they were making a profit and had full order books but the factory was small and the equipment was getting old it needed a place three times the size and all new kit with a lot more staff to compete in the future.

Ten years ago you could use the argument that the workforce outside Japan in the far east on the whole was not so good, not now you cant'. In Indonesia were Kemble have gone, there are large grants to help for training and to re-equip. Ironically a lot of that money came from the EEC in aid and donation for the tsunami fund.

the piano industry seems to be moving in to two areas high end and low end, the makes in the middle like Schimmel will have to invest in bigger plant to keep cost down to compete with the low end I can not see that happening in the EEC area. The only hope for some makes is to follow the Broadwood model winch is sad as a lot of skill will be lost.


Barrie

[athomik]

While it is sad that the last volume producer of English pianos has finally closed it's doors with the loss of a considerable number of local jobs, there is the reality of global business forcing difficult choices locally.
In recent statements, Brian Kemble explained their predicament. Basically, they were not a high-end manufacturer, which could have justified high production costs in return for a high profit margin, their market was more in the mid-range, which requires cost efficient production and high volume, neither of which were achievable in their current facility. The only option for the Kemble brand to survive was to find a location which could produce the right volume of pianos, of the right quality, at the right price, which turned out to be the Indonesian Yamaha factory. He also stated that, due to the lower labour costs, they could justify spending more time for the technicians on each piano to re-create the Kemble sound. This, combined with the continued use of Strunz soundboards etc. should mean that the Indonesian Kembles are just as good as they always were, which Brian himself has confirmed. (see http://www.kemble-pianos.co.uk/kemble-p ... lease.html

From Yamaha's point of view, they now have 3 brands which should cover pretty much all the market, from budget to midrange European and Japanese sounding pianos, Japanese high-end pianos and very high end European pianos. In the end, I would think that the combined knowledge and experience of all three brands can only help to inprove each individual brand.