Salt Lake City, Utah 84115
(801) 487-0641
At [the] turn-of-the-century, there were 5,000 piano makers in the United States and a piano in every parlor.
The Depression took a lot of manufacturers out of the business.
In recent years, parlors have been taken over by passive stereo and electronic "home entertainment" devices.
Recession since 1980 has cut sale of pianos made by domestic manufacturers to fewer than half the 300,000 sold in 1980.
Now, some of the 10 "domestic manufacturers" that are members of the National Pianos Manufacturers Assn. (NPMA) are Japanese -- like Yamaha, which has opened a plant in the United States.
Some -- like Steinway -- are affiliates of large conglomerates.
Still independent, still in business and still holding the line on sales is Astin-Weight Piano Manufacturing at 120 W. 3300 South, in South Salt Lake.
It also claims honor to be the only piano manufacturer west of the Mississippi River.
And this year, it observes its 25th anniversary.
Sell Nearly 1,000
While sales have leveled, it expects to have made and sold nearly a
thousand pianos by year's end -- a record in own annals.
"We've held our own by staying with the top end of the line -- just like Mercedes Benz." says Ray Astin, a principal co-owner and president.
-- No particle board for the cases. "We still use solid wood."
-- A husky patented cast iron frame that contains the 40,000 pounds of string stress so the sound board needs no additional bulwarking that would otherwise compromise its "big board" sound. "That allows us a 40 percent larger sound board than on a standard piano. It's analogous to a large speaker versus a small speaker."
-- An appropriate allocation of time to allow wood elements to dry and mature and the pianos to cure before putting them on the market.
Basically, the bread and butter of the firm is the large $7,800 50-inch high upright, for home, church, and university classrooms sold through dealers nationwide.
The firm also manufacturers a $17,500 concert grand. But production is limited. "We're luck if we can get out one a week."
Though Astin-Weight has been holding its own in a soft market, it sees trouble ahead. In the past three years, the Koreans -- following on the heels of the Japanese -- have come on strong in the American market, he says.
The NPMA is considering filing an injury action with the International Trade Commission. "But we're scarcely a big lobby." And President Reagan, in turning down previous ITC findings of injury in the copper and steel industry, does not indicate he would suddenly turn protectionist when it comes to pianos.
'Free-Trader'
"I'm a 'free-trader' myself, but not when governments act as
business. We can't toe it out with Japan and Korea Incorporated."
Astin-Weight's efforts to penetrate the European market, too, he says, have been thwarted by the dollar premium that has hiked the cost of American products in the international marketplace.
There also has been market penetration by the "electronic keyboard." But that could be a positive. "We're betting the kids will tire of the electronics and end up buying pianos.
But the financial position of Astin-Weight is sound now. It has survived troubled times in the past, including a Chapter 11 bankruptcy that forced reorganization 15 years ago, he says.
The business was founded in 1959 by Mr. Astin's father, Edwin, and Don Weight, both employees of a Salt Lake music store. There were about 40 manufacturers in the country. The two believed they could turn out a product as good as any.
They set up manufacturing facilities in an old building at 50 West First South, making perhaps no more than 50 pianos a year.
Ray, oldest child in the Astin family, was bent on being a doctor, and had been accepted in medical school when he was called into the company because of financial troubles 15 years ago.
The management of the company was restructured. Creditors finally were paid off.
"No matter how much you spend on education, there is nothing like the real world. Being in business teaches you how to be in business."
But there was not to be a happy ending. Painful and profound disagreements erupted between Ray and his father. In 1978, the corporation bought out the elder Astin's share. Ray Astin and Mr. Weight are now principal owners.
The company has grown every year except the last two when sales began to flatten. They considered a public offering four years ago. They also have considered a national marketing program. "Our problem is that we don't have enough gross profit. Ads in TIME and on TV aren't cheap. We have to rely on word of mouth."
The company operates and manufactures from a 37,000-square-foot leased building. It has an average employment ranging between 25 and 30. Several employees now are on lay-off while the plant is being brought up to code with new wiring required by South Salt Lake.
From the point of view of manufacture, Utah's dry climate is an ideal location. A piano manufactured in a dry environment and subsequently sent to a damp environment fares far better than one manufactured in a damp environment and transported to a dry, he says.
The maturation of wood by drying before it is cut and assembled in piano components has much to do with its stability and resistance to later warping. Instruments assembled in damp environments without benefit of good pre-drying are much more vulnerable to warp, he says.
There are 10,000 parts in a piano, notes Mr. Astin. But beyond than, manufacturers vary considerable in their methods of construction. The only part that is standard is the keyboard, essentially unchanged in 300 years.
Most boards have 88 keys. Some manufacturers produce boards with a few less or a few more. European pianos have slightly wider keys, adding about a half inch to total keyboard width.
Certainly keyboards could be designed to function more efficiently in terms of the dynamics of hands and musical construction. But that would be equivalent of trying to change the standard typewriter keyboard, he says. Too many people have learned and trained with the traditional keyboard.
Piano tuning is done by a standard set by Congress in 1926, with middle A at 440 vibrations per second. Prior to that, standardization was vague. Generally 426 vibrations was considered suitable. Professional piano tuners, therefore, discourage brining up old pianos to the modern pitch. Reason: The additional stress could destroy the frame.
Looking ahead, there is the assumption the economy will continue to improve. And that has posed some agonizing questions for Astin-Weight. Among them: Whether or not to make massive capital expenditures to enhance productivity.
Mr. Astin has two pianos at home for amusement. But his preference for relaxation is a harpsichord upon which he plays Baroque compositions with a preference for Bach.
