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Hi BoseEric, when will the 179 be out in the US market?

I'm hoping by fall

I am really confused as to why Feurich would "sell" their name to a Chinese outfit. I recently purchased a German Feurich (refurbished by the factory) and was told that the German made Feurich is superior to the Chinese. I wonder which Feurich Mr. Barton plays?? I'll bet it is a German made. Mine is a glorious instrument, will need some work to get it and keep it where I want it to be...it is like a new piano. I can tell you there is a great difference in price between the Chinese and German made Feurich!!

I think Paul Barton plays Feurich 218. I have seen a few videos of him playing on the 218. here's the spec of this particular model: http://www.feurichusa.com/index.php/model-218-grand

To get a toehold in the Chinese market. Piano sales are down in the US and down in Europe. The Chinese market is thriving and expanding. Entry by a foreign company is helped by partnering with a Chinese one.

If the Feurich/Ningbo partnership prospers, Feurich may be able to ramp up production a bit in Germany. There hasn't been much in the past few years. The name won't do much good if Feurich dies as a German brand, and it's not really fair to pre-judge the Chinese product without seeing and playing it. Hailun provides a good platform for grand pianos and big production capacity. Feurich is not alone in noticing that.

Paul Barton plays the Chinese built feurich 218.

The German built feurichs do still exist as far as I know and are simply branded JF pianos.

JF pianos

Feurich did NOT sell to a Chinese "outfit".
Wendl & Lung, founded by Ernest Bittner is headquartered in Vienna. Hailun has no stake in the new Feurich except as a contract manufacturer and, recently, has been acting as distributor in China.

Feurich sold to Wendl & Lung because a tiny, high priced German maker needed resources in the form of cash and distribution to survive. Wendl & Lung needed a new name and wanted to add German made pianos to its product line supporting its European background and sensibilities.

With some surprise, two years after having sold his company, Julius Feurich has voluntarily withdrawn from his licensing agreement and apparently plans to make pianos under the JF name. The new Feurich, which I represent, will be adding German made pianos, under the Feurich name based on Feurich designs, to its product line.

I find it all a bit silly. The original Feurich name has nothing to do with the current one. How is this any different to all the stencil pianos which bare no relationship to their founders? I'd prefer to see a new brand enter the fray than to see "JF" pianos being made by the real descendant of the Feurich family, and "Feurich" pianos being made by a people with no connection to the original Feurich company other than a desire to trade on their name.

I get that contracts were signed and deals were made, but it just sits uncomfortably with me. I like things to be what they seem. Imagine having to explain that convoluted history to every new customer who wants to understand the heritage of the brand...

Both Ernest and I agree. It was certainly not the original intention. But, because of the rather baffling (to me) actions of one individual, it is now the situation.

Who says this is a dull business? You can read more at www.highendpianoguy.com

Eric, I thought I got all this but am now a little confused.

Are Feurich pianos built in China, Vienna or somewhere in Germany? And when you say that 'Hailun has no stake in Feurich pianos except as a contract manufacturer..' does that mean that the Feurich is made by Hailun, and if so does it not share the same basic design as a Hailun?

I'm just interested really. To me a good piano is a good piano and if it comes at a reasonable price then I'm not complaining. I don't really care where it was built. But I can see how some customers would be attracted to a Feurich because it sounds German or indeed they might think it is made in Germany. German pianos have always been thought of as amongst the best made and highest quality. I thought this was why Chinese manufacturers used German sounding names for their pianos.

nvm did some research clarified some confusion..


http://www.feurich.com/en/innovative_production
Made in China by Hailun.



http://www.juliusfeurich.cn/Products.html
There were the same company, in 2002 Ye bought 52% of stakes to save them from bankrupt. Then moved the production in China.
in 2008 Julius Feurich passed away, JF starts to lose money again, been said Ye spent 20 million Yuan from 2004-2010 to fill the gap. Then Ye decide to quit, but Julius Feurich does not have enough money to pay back Ye's 52% stakes. In the end Julius Feurich decides to give the name "Julius Feurich" to Ye and changed their name to "Feurich".

Now JF is completly made in China, but still shares some roots with Fuerich since the production was already moved to China. and Hailun makes the new german Feurich pianosl.

Ummm, close but not quite correct.

The Julius Feurich brand, formed from an earlier partnership between Julius and the Chinese maker Artfield is for Chinese domestic sales only. This brand is unrelated to the current Feurich, headquartered in Vienna, and Hailun. In fact, if you see the Julius Feurich brand for sale outside of China, please let me know.

The Feurich models shown on www.feurichusa.com and www.feurich.com are made for us under contract by Hailun. We started with some standard Hailun models and added our own tweaks and customizations (originally developed as the Wendl & Lung brand). We are expanding out from that. For example the model 115 vertical, designed by Rolf Ibach, is our own exclusive design, as is the upcoming 179. Still made for us by Hailun, but our exclusive model.

As of right now, today, there is not a Feurich built in Germany. There was one as of earlier in 2012, but Julius withdrawing from the agreement ended that production. We (the NEW Feurich, an Austrian company headquartered in Vienna) is developing new German production of models built on original Feurich designs. This German production has always been important to the concept and we're not going to let Julius going his own way change that.

I know, it's a mess! The original concept was much much cleaner. However, we (including me)are proceeding because we, collectively, think we are bringing something important to the piano industry. Some innovative thinking is already available, including the 4th Harmonic pedal, a Feurich exclusive. There is more coming.

I've gotten to know Ernest and his crew in Vienna and really believe in his vision and capabilities. This, at heart, is still a European company. I know that is easy for skeptics to dismiss, but I don't care. My interest has always been in the European approach and sensibilities and that hasn't changed. I have never had any interest in simply marketing some Chinese stencil brand and that has not changed. Yes, it would have been much more effective if Julius had chosen to stay involved, but that didn't happen and, frankly, I'm not loosing too much sleep about it.

Just a thought, there are very few makers today managed by people whose name is on the fallboard. I can only think of Charles Walter, Sauter, Steingraeber and Hailun and one should include Overs and Stuart. Maybe there are others but I can't think of any. Michael Spreeman put somebody else's name (Ravenscroft) on his piano! Yes, Henry Steinway died just recently but I don't think anybody could claim that he played a managing role.

It is also wrong to dismiss all others as "stencil" brands. They are Brand Names. Nobody would call Boston a stencil I think. Even with Samicks broad range of products, they all have individual designs and characteristics and marketing approaches that make me very hesitant to just dismiss them as stencil. True, some are age old names that have no design connection with the original designs, but I think that is a good thing. Piano technology has progressed a lot!

Stencil brands were more common when dealers wanted their own exclusive brand but that practice is not very common anymore.

I think the list of makers is a bit longer than that. Förster, Blüthner, Schimmel, Grotrian, Pfeiffer, Shigeru, Fazioli come to mind right away. There are probably other piano companies which, although the name of the CEO is not the name on the fallboard, exhibit much more continuity of production designs, ideals, philosophy etc than all those German and American branded pianos now made in Asia.

The name Feurich still stands for a high-end and very musical piano. I wish them all success, no matter if they are built in China, Vienna, or in Mr. Feurich's own workshop!

Baffling? It's pssible that the fiery passion was doused by the industry landscape, nagging debt carried forward, a cultural clash, and the difficulty of adjusting to becoming the rear wheels on a front-wheel-drive car. Whatever, your optimism is commendable.

I don't know if you're aware of it Eric, but JF was a member here for one brief day in 2009. There had been some forum chatter about the stalls and starts during Feurich's previous couple of decades and possible affiliations with China (Ningbo specifically, not Artfield). There was a member here who was heavily invested in a 'new' Feurich he had bought through the Melbourne,Fla. outfit that I believe you've had dealings with. The member was troubled by that chatter and driven to affirm the purity of his instrument, which I recall he later sold.. A connection was made, and JF came on board for a day.

Upon his arrival JF was greeted by assorted forum bon vivants and malcontents. [No! Not me! I was so stunned by the occasion that I bundled my fingers in duct tape ] It got pretty funny at one point when JF asked if he needed to address the question of "a nameless" (a member who went by an avatar).

Anyway, here's some of what he had to say at the time. It may be interesting to look at it against the backdrop of known reality.



Full text here

http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1259031/1.html

Thinking if the 'full list' of those brands which are being suplied by Hailun [and have for a while now..] comes to light, a few more feather will be ruffled.

And minds boggled...

Including all those who have paid a premium price for a "European piano" basically 100% made by Hailun in China.

Norbert

As much as it pains me, I am quite confident that the instruments claimed to come out of Gunzenhausen over the past 5 years did, indeed come out of Gunzenhausen completely. I've seen the process and results with my own eyes and ears.

Julius has explored different partnerships but I do not believe that what was represented as German made was in fact something else.

Other brands, who knows?

Well I can tell you as the new owner of a refurbished at the factory in Gunzenhausen Feurich 197 (6' 6") built in 1989 (and serviced at the factory, one owner)...this is a wonderful piano. The sustain is incredible, the bass powerful, the treble a dream. I seemed to be always searching, though my 6' 3" Schimmel was a good piano. I am no longer searching!

crap Jurgen...you have clearly informed my on how truly shitty my memory is. How could I forget my friends in Lobau and Dr Christian of course, well, maybe a future friend in Sacile. Schimmel, OK. Grotrian? Please explain that connection. Kawai...really? wow! Didn't know ... really?

My most humble apologies to these great family piano makers, most of whom I've met in person. I have no excuse, except age and the fact that I grew up in the 70's.

The Kawais:

Koichi
Shigeru
Hirotaka

Direct family tradition of piano building. The fallboard has always borne the family name.