<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" xmlns:v = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:x = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel" xmlns:m = "http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml"><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16608" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE>  </STYLE>  <SCRIPT src="http://127.0.0.1:37935/xpopup.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT> </HEAD> <BODY lang=EN-US vLink=purple link=blue bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV class=Section1> <A href="http://www.trumanndemocrat.com/"><IMG id=Picture_x0020_1 height=89 alt=http://images.townnews.com/trumanndemocrat.com/art/toplogo.gif src="cid:image001.gif@01C8789B.A9A0A280" width=525 border=0></A><o:p></o:p> <DIV class=MsoNormal> <HR style="WIDTH: 6.25in; COLOR: #a0a0a0" align=left width=600 noShade SIZE=4> </DIV> <TABLE class=MsoNormalTable style="WIDTH: 431.25pt" cellPadding=0 width=575 border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0.75pt; PADDING-LEFT: 0.75pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0.75pt; PADDING-TOP: 0.75pt"> Baldwin Piano lays off 34 employees<o:p></o:p> By Ruth Ann Estes, Democrat news staff <o:p></o:p> In an effort to streamline its operations, Baldwin Piano, Inc. of Trumann laid off 34 employees last week. The company made the announcement of the job cuts on Monday, Jan. 28.<o:p></o:p> Baldwin Piano has been in Trumann for over 30 year building pianos for the United States market. Baldwin was acquired by Gibson Guitar Corporation in 2001.<o:p></o:p> The local staff changes came about because of the piano company’s decision to have the Trumann operation now focus solely on the prestigious Baldwin Custom line of American made pianos, according to Baldwin.<o:p></o:p> Employees who were let go in the reorganization of the Trumann operation received a severance package including six weeks salary and insurance coverage.<o:p></o:p> Information released last week by the company said that Baldwin’s decision to concentrate on the new Baldwin Custom House line resulted in reorganization at the Trumann plant “resulting in a reduction in workforce of 34 people.”<o:p></o:p> In August, 2007 the company announced the addition of the new line to its inventory. The Trumann plant would build innovative and creative hand-built, limited edition design pianos.<o:p></o:p> The Baldwin Custom House line features both Gallery and Exotica Collections and targets high end customers. The company actually created a new category of pianos. The pianos are a type of interior decorating for the customer who wants what no one else has, according to the company’s promotional material.<o:p></o:p> Each piano in the new Baldwin Custom House design will be hand-signed and hand-numbered. Company executives described the line as an innovative and creative approach to hand-built, limited edition pianos with innovative new design techniques.<o:p></o:p> Enhancements have been made to both vertical and grand product line pianos. The focus of the line will be the finest quality and artistic flavor available to create a fine piece of art. Highly skilled craftsmen and artists were hired to ensure the highest level of excellence, and an apprenticeship program was launched to train artisans.<o:p></o:p> Customers can buy their personal piece of art, one executive said when describing the new line. Promotional material described the new line as changing the face of the traditional piano with the launch of two collections, Gallery and Exotic. The line offers customers an opportunity to purchase a grand or upright piano to match the interior of a special room. Customers can also order grand pianos which are an individual work of art.<o:p></o:p> For several years the Baldwin plant in Trumann has employed 100 highly skilled piano craftsmen who turned out approximately 500 grand pianos a year. And of those 500 pianos, half of them were custom made.<o:p></o:p> Baldwin Piano stated that the company would continue to produce some of the world’s finest pianos with its remaining workforce of dedicated craftsmen at the Trumann location.<o:p></o:p> Every Baldwin piano is still U.S. made today. Baldwin is one of only two companies still producing pianos in the United States. All pianos produced locally are made from parts constructed and assembled in the Trumann plant.<o:p></o:p> Companies such as Hamilton and Wurlitzer in the U.S. import many of their models from overseas while all Baldwin pianos are strictly made in the United States.<o:p></o:p> The average price of one of the pianos in the new Custom House line is $60,000. Prices for the new models begin at $50,000 and can reach $150,000.<o:p></o:p> Baldwin is one of the oldest piano manufacturers in the America. D.H. Baldwin, a former music teacher, opened his first store in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1862.<o:p></o:p> Dubbed “America’s Favorite Piano,” Baldwin Piano won international awards at the turn of the 20th century. By the end of the century, the company had grown to be the largest American piano maker.<o:p></o:p></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> </DIV></BODY></HTML>