That is so sad to hear. I think quite a few pipe organ builders use Laukhuff components so their closure is going to leave quite a gap in the industry.
1971 Allen Organ TC-3S (#42904) w/sequential capture system.
Speakers: x1 Model 100 Gyro, x1 Model 105 & x3 Model 108.
Something that I was wondering about for quite a while - do they manufacture most of their components in-house, or did they contract out the manufacturing of many of the components to other companies? For example, did they make their own pipes, chest magnets, console parts, etc. all in-house?
As voet said, it makes one wonder how many other organ companies might be close to the same fate...
Do you think it will be possible to get replacement parts for their keyboards in the coming years? For example, Rodgers used Laukhuff in some of their organs and the key contacts tend to need replacing after years of use. Where would one go to source such parts?
Replace them all with Kimber Allen gold-on-gold contacts as we recently did to a three manual Rodgers hybrid organ.
Not an easy undertaking and not cheap.
Looking at their catalog, which is still online, I was amazed at how many interesting things they either made or distributed, like a mini carillon, saucer bells, other tuned percussions, a nightingale whistle, an electronically controlled cuckoo and other fun items. (See Part 7 of the catalog.)
Larry is my name; Allen is an organ brand. Allen RMWTHEA.3 with RMI Electra-Piano; Allen 423-C+Gyro; Britson Opus OEM38; Steinway AR Duo-Art 7' grand piano, Mills Violano Virtuoso with MIDI; Hammond 9812H with roll player; Roland E-200; Mason&Hamlin AR Ampico grand piano, Allen ADC-5300-D with MIDI, Allen MADC-2110.
To me that's the real tragedy. Sometimes, a former competitor will make an offer in order to gain additional resources, expertise, skilled staff, access to patents (if any), etc, and the customer list.
I guess it's a sign of the times that no one was interested.
Maybe there are some interested parties but they are waiting for the company to be wound up so they can pick and choose what bits they want (IP, customer lists, machinery, stock etc) without being lumbered with other bits they do not want by taking on/investing in the company in its entirety. I don't know how winding up a company works but presumably you can approach the insolvency practitioner and make an offer for specific assets.
Hopefully someone will step in and save some of the company. It would be a shame to see all that history, skill and expertise disappear completely.
I think nullogik has described what the likely outcome will be. To my understanding, Laukhuff was / is a pretty large operation, so finding another company that has the means and desire to buy everything altogether seems fairly unlikely. The asset sale / auction will be huge though, I would think.
Think about when Moller went bankrupt. The place was sold off piece by piece. As I recall one church bid on their partially completed instrument to have someone else finish the job. Intellectual property, patterns, even rights to the trademarked name all go up for grabs and the sum of the parts never again equals the whole.
The question comes to mind, with the ever increasing market for home VPO instruments, would not there be a demand for parts of such builds? Just as an example, a number of well known Youtube organists have undertaken documented home VPO builds during the past year. From what I can tell, that is inspiring others to make the jump and build their own VPO as well.
I have not checked today, but if the Laukhuff catalogs ( there are several parts ) are still online they are well worth downloading, just to have. They contain quite a lot of pipe construction detail information that is interesting to read.
It is truly sad to see a rather large, well respected company meet this sort of end. I know that a lot of organbuilders relied on them for parts that were better bought rather than having to fabricate every detail themselves. I have to wonder if the extreme Covid shutdowns in Europe were a big cause of this situation happening at this time ? Cash flow is critical in any business, and even more so in one that does custom work almost exclusively. Nobody working = no parts being made and shipped = no payments coming in, but the costs of running the business continue. When that goes on too long, ya run out of money to continue on.
Regards, Larry
At Home : Yamaha Electones : EX-42 ( X 3 !!! ), E-5AR, FX-1 ( X 2 !! ), US-1, EL-25 ( Chopped ). Allen 601D, ADC 6000D. Lowrey CH32-1. At Churches I play for : Allen Q325 ( with Vista ), Allen L123 ( with Navigator ). Rodgers 755. 1919 Wangerin 2/7 pipe organ.
I have not checked today, but if the Laukhuff catalogs ( there are several parts ) are still online they are well worth downloading, just to have. They contain quite a lot of pipe construction detail information that is interesting to read.
Yes, still online. According to the press release, the official close date is June 30, so folks grab 'em while you can.
That is a real tragedy. The catalog was indeed a good read, all the way up to a complete instrument of distinctive case that was installed in some totally unexpected location. If anybody did download the catalog I'd love to have it, ditto any article on the closure -- google fails me here.
I believe the wackily wonderful Delbarton School/St. Mary's Abbey organ was built entirely of Laukhuff products -- nameplate says or said Eric A. Fiss. Any fellow fans of it here?
That is a real tragedy. The catalog was indeed a good read, all the way up to a complete instrument of distinctive case that was installed in some totally unexpected location. If anybody did download the catalog I'd love to have it, ditto any article on the closure -- google fails me here.
Yes, when you consider the size of their catalog it was a real shock to the system.
Thanks ever so much! So it was a combination of factors going back almost a decade. VPOs are tremendously exciting and amazing, but I had no earthly idea they were having such an impact.
Many years ago I was playing in a large Catholic church. A wonderful middle-aged German lady joined the choir out of the blue. One day I asked her where she was from -- you guessed it, Weikersheim. "Ever heard of Laukhuff?" I asked.
"You know Laukhuff? Amazing!" She responded and called her sister, who was visiting, over to tell her. "What -- you know Laukhuff?" the sister said no less avidly. Small world!
Can the catalog be posted here in OF? ;-]
Laukhuff catalog has been a very important resource for me, first during my pedalboard construction, subsequently as I started adding other organ parts to my VPO.
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