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St. louis Music Celebrates 90 th Anniversary
The musical instrument manufacturer and
wholesaler known as St. louis Music is celebrating
its 90 th anniversary. “I am honored
to head a company that has meant so much
to generations of musicians worldwide,”
said CEo Mark Ragin. “I’m also pleased to
report St. louis Music is strong, creating
new products and continuing to earn dealers’ business. Part of that is
that we strive to live up to the high standards set by the founders and
early leaders of St. louis Music.” The company started the celebration
at Summer NAMM, and will have dealer specials and other surprises
at Winter NAMM in Anaheim. The company has a storied history of
excellence and innovation, starting with its founders, the Kornblums.
Focusing on more recent years, the company continued to post
impressive growth until the mid-2000s when, in 2005, annual sales
hit $85 million. That year, Gene Kornblum decided to retire, selling
the company to loUD Technologies. A few years later, though, the
company would end up in the hands of Ragin who, in 1999, had opened
a music wholesale company called U.S. Band and orchestra. By 2008,
it was serving 3,000 dealers. He reached out
to loUD and negotiated buying most of St.
louis Music, save for some of the electronic
lines.
Today, with Senior Vice President Gail
Rose and Vice President in charge of strings
Jim Eaton, growth continues, as does the
desire to be a “one-stop shop” for dealers. A recent development was
bringing on the P. Mauriat brand of horns, which is managed by Craig
Denny. Recently, the UnionStation line of accessories was launched
and, today, more than 15,000 SKUs of products are available, from accessories
to high-end professional instruments.
“The honest truth is, as much as we appreciate the history of the
company, it’s the future we spend the most time working on,” Ragin
said. “Can we create better products at a good value? Can we offer
better service to our dealers and help them be profitable? Can we
make music-making easier for everyone? Those are the issues we’ll be
concerned with for at least the next 90 years!”
Sweetwater Keeps On growing
Indiana-based Sweetwater Sound, Inc., has announced its decision to
expand once again in Fort Wayne-Allen County. The company will not
only add 110,000 square feet to its current facility, but it will also add
more than 315 full-time positions to its existing workforce of 413 over
the next four years, as well as a number of ancillary jobs related to
Sweetwater’s partners, vendors, contractors, and restaurant and music
school staffs.
Sweetwater Founder and President Chuck Surack said, “Thanks to
the great work of the Economic Development Alliance, Sweetwater will
be able to continue to create jobs and grow in Fort Wayne.”
Most of the new jobs created will be high-paying and will result in
many new employees moving with their families to Fort Wayne, just as
the company has experienced with its robust growth in employment in
recent years. Since Sweetwater moved into its new campus in November
2006, a move that was made possible with help from an incentive
package put together by the Alliance, total employment has grown
from 240 to 413 today.
Sweetwater Sound’s decision to expand its current facility, which is
located off of US Highway 30 West, allows the company to enhance
its headquarters campus and maintain fully integrated operations.
The expansion will include 35,000 square feet of additional warehouse
space, with the remaining 75,000 square feet devoted to marketing and
sales staff, plus additional conference and training space. Sweetwater
Sound plans to invest at least $23.6 million. The company was offered
an incentive package of $7.1 million spread over 10 years from the
state of Indiana, Allen County and the city of Fort Wayne, which would
be available based on Sweetwater’s meeting annual benchmarks.
8 AUGUST 2012