German Piano Manufacturers and Their Position in the Global Ecosystem
- Hannah Beckett
- Apr 15
- 5 min read
By Jakob Schulz
When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
This almost 40-year-old song lyric by Billy Ocean is a good summary of the current state of the German piano industry. The past three years have not been easy for anyone in the piano industry, and the German industry is no exception. With a dependency on exports to the U.S., China, and other smaller markets, both economic downturns and societal and political changes in those countries highly impacted the business of German piano companies.
In 2024, piano sales in the U.S. were the lowest ever recorded. The most recent publication of Music Trades, Music Industry Census, reports that in the past ten years, sales of new instruments have been reduced by half. Since 2008, Chinese supply and demand for pianos have tied it closely to Western production; European and American manufacturers export their high-end instruments to satisfy demand from China’s wealthy population, and nearly every Western manufacturer has outsourced production of its entry-level lines to Chinese producers. The recent removal of government-funded educational incentives has brought the Chinese piano industry to its knees, and the Western piano industry with it.
Yet, if you talked to representatives of German manufacturers at one of the many recent international trade shows, you would not sense resignation, fear, or anger because of the current state of the industry. This may come as a surprise to some, but it can easily be explained with a brief look at German piano manufacturing history. Most of these companies have been operating for more than 100 years, some more than 150, and many are still owned by the original families. The ancestors of today’s owners have faced economic downturns over and over again. All of them went through two world wars, and some through 40 years of communism in Eastern Germany. Many needed to rebuild their companies after one or more of these historic periods, and yet their names, their core beliefs, and their accumulated knowledge continued to live. Rightfully so, we believe the industry can weather today's challenges, which are numerous - to say the least.
Piano Manufacturers with Headquarters or Facilities in Germany:
Products made in Germany are highly valued, but we face fierce competition from countries that can achieve lower manufacturing costs that can never be matched in Germany, and that are consistently increasing in quality. This applies similarly to electronics, cars, and pianos. However, I am strongly confident that German piano manufacturing will not vanish. Parsons Music Group, a large, Hong-Kong-based conglomerate and owner of several brands has confirmed that they intend to continue the Grotrian-Steinweg brand in Germany, which demonstrates a willingness to invest in German manufacturing in spite of the financial difficulties that plagued Grotrian in 2024. Pearl River’s investment in Schimmel in 2016 also shows that German manufacturing has an important place in global production. German piano craftsmen, which include a growing population of women, are doing meticulous and very impressive work in putting together what are still some of the best pianos in the world. But most importantly, the piano companies and the owners behind them create and maintain the most important ingredient for doing long-term business: Trust.
German manufacturers have created consumer trust in the quality of their products; Trust that they will still be there to call after a 5- or 10-year warranty period; Trust that they will supply spare parts for instruments that were built a century ago; And trust that in the bad times, they will support their partners who have helped in creating the good times.
Aside from trust, German manufacturers lead in generational knowledge and expertise. Each family generation learns from one another, and new minds inspire new ideas. A good example of this is Fanny and Alban Steingräber, the young and refreshingly unconventional 7th Generation of the Steingräber family from Bayreuth. With exciting creations such as a grand piano with cows on its rim (look it up, it's beautiful), and a curved keyboard, they represent fresh perspective in German manufacturing. Another example of younger generations positively questioning the status quo is August Förster. They are currently taking the time to redesign their concert grand and are producing their first Stretto Piano with a narrower keyboard for pianists with smaller hands.
A third example is Sauter, the piano company known for its special instruments designed by Peter Maly, where the next generation of owners are currently in the process of taking over. When family businesses hand over responsibility to the next generation, they preserve their tradition, experience, and values.
At Gebr. Schulz, we are experiencing this process at the moment. My wife Sarah and I are doing more and more work in the piano industry, my parents lead the company, and while my grandparents are formally retired, they are no less opinionated than ever before. We experience every day what decision-making with many decades of experiences and values built over the same time means, and are confident that the time this takes creates incomparable results.
The examples above are only a few of many that show the relevance of German pianos today, whether it is an individual design, a technical innovation, or just “das kleine Schwarze” (German for the little black piece) for the next generation of pianists, and the intrinsic motivation of many global manufacturers to continue the German piano legacy is perhaps even stronger than it has been. We German manufacturers have learned to make very good use of our time when sales are not keeping us busy as much as in the past. We prepare our companies for the future, with more efficiency, more innovation, and new human capital.
This approach leaves me confident and optimistic about the future. Alone, a German piano company cannot survive, as both the brands and supply chains are very interconnected. But together, we can make sure that people continue to cherish German pianos for the values that have created these wonderful companies and so many partnerships, friendships, and communities across the Atlantic into the USA.
Growing up as the son of a piano builder and a pianist, pianos were always a central part of Jakob Shulz's life. Nevertheless, he chose to look beyond and gain experience in a different field. He spent the first years of his career innovating and digitizing the real estate industry and still allocates some of his time to investing in innovative companies in this sector. At Gebr. Schulz, Jakob ensures smooth operations and financial management mainly for the US markets. His modern approach brings efficiency and adaptability to the company’s operations.
