Steinway & Sons

        On May 14th, I had the privilege of touring the Steinway & Sons factory located in Astoria, New York. Within three hours, more information was scribbled on my hotel notepad and crammed into my brain than I had believed manageable. On May 27th, I toured the Steinway & Sons factory in Hamburg, Germany,  where I was allowed to take many pictures and enjoy some tasty treats and refreshments afterward. In order for all of this information to be manageable for you (and me in the future), I have tried to organize everything with headings and sub-headings. Here we go!

Steinway & Sons - Astoria, New York 

Steinway & Sons - Hamburg, Germany

General: 

      Steinway & Sons was founded in 1853, and since then, the company has sold over half a million pianos. Currently, the company has three lines (Boston, Essex, and Steinway) and two factories located in Astoria, New York (USA) and Hamburg, Germany. The company is responsible for over 125 patents and as of the 2011/2012 concert season, 98.9% of all concert pianists chose a Steinway, all without contracts.

Steinway Selection Room 

Going "Green":

Photovoltaic System 

            The Steinway factory in New York has done a lot to improve its energy efficiency over the past few years. In 2010, the Association of Energy Engineers awarded Steinway & Sons with the “Renewable Project of the Year” for the Northeast region of the United States. This honor was a result of Steinway’s recent solar thermal system, complete with a dual-fuel absorption chiller and thirty-eight solar collectors. Three arrays are located on top of the factory's roof and are designed to follow the sun throughout the day. Each solar collector directs heat toward a mixture of water and an anti-freeze substance (similar to glycol), with a maximum heat of 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If the system needs to be cooled, hot water goes through the double affect absorption chiller, which can use both solar energy and natural gas. The system is equipped with a full monitoring and control system; therefore, priority for using the solar energy can be set. Since the system is circulatory, there is no environmental spillage and pipes are protected with the anti-freeze in the winter. A heat exchanger allows for steam to be produced, which is then used for heating the building and some of the production process, such as for the dry kiln.

Solar Thermal System 

          Steinway & Sons (NY) has several other policies that make it “green.” For example, for every tree the company cuts down, three more are planted. Also, sawdust is vacuumed from the factory and sold to make pellets for woodstove; however, excessive sawdust would prove to be a safety hazard anyway since static could cause a spark. (Sawdust is highly flammable). Steinway cannot burn their wood waste due to New York air quality laws, so the company pays for the waste chips to be hauled away to produce animal bedding.  CFL light bulbs have replaced all traditional incandescent light bulbs within the office space and all glues are water-based, which is better for the environment than non-water-based glues. In the future, Steinway & Sons (NY) hopes to use its sawdust and wood waste for fuel, as well as to sell ash for cement.

Heinrich Steinweg

History: A Company of Tradition

          Heinrich Steinweg built his first piano in his own kitchen back in Seesen, Germany. Before emigrating to the United States, Heinrich sent one of his sons to the United States to make sure the business was as good as people said. In 1850, the entire family emigrated to New York, where the sons began to work for various piano companies. At that time, there were over 100 different piano manufacturers in the area. The family name "Steinweg" was changed to "Steinway" in 1853,  when the Steinway & Sons company was founded.

        One of the sons longed to return to Germany, and thus, established the Hamburg Steinway factory in 1880. The current building in Astoria, New York was built in the 1870s. It's remote location allowed for great access to the forest and made it possible for a Steinway village to be built. This village included a ferry, trolleys, Biergarten, and its own orchestra. The convenient transportation for the village may be linked the the head of the department of transportation...a Steinway son at the time. This could be false memory, but I do believe my tour guide in New York said that one or more of the Steinway sons have been active in each American war since the Civil War.

         In 1941, when the U.S. entered WWII, the German factory was declared Enemy Property and placed under surveillance. This factory was damaged in 1944, but production resumed in 1948 and several extensions were added in the following decade. The complete Steinway history can be viewed on their website (here) or at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.

Production Process:

      The production process for both Hamburg and Astoria factories are roughly the same, with the exception that German pianos are often tuned brighter. The focus of this procedure is on grand piano, an instrument comprised of about 12,000 parts and taking almost a full year to produce.


       Wood - The wood processing alone is very important to the overall sound quality of the piano. There are several different species of wood used in the procedure, including Spruce (soundboard, keyboard), Whitewood (top, music desk), Maple (pin block, action, bridge, rim veneers), Mahogany (rim veneers), and Bubinga (pin block). Many other special woods are used for veneers, such as Walnut, Cherry, and Yew. Once the wood is delivered to the factory, it will take two years for the natural drying process in Hamburg, and in New York, the lumber is air-dried for up to one year and then kiln-dried to remove cracking and warping tendencies. Steinway in New York receives the first pick of the forest due to their long-standing relationship with the families who own the forests. My tour guide even said that the wood, itself, is worth more than their competitor's retail value of their pianos. I find that hard to believe, but it just means that this is top-quality wood. Most of the trees are 60-100 years old, but younger trees can be used for certain parts. Some wood is shipped from the U.S. to Hamburg, which is probably to satisfy the LACEY Act.

Wood at Hamburg

      Rim - The rim-bending process occurs in the basement because it is more humid. Sheets of straight-grained hard maple (NY - native to Northeast US and Canada) are pushed through a glue spreader where Eurea glue (a mix of urine and walnut shells) is applied. Approximately 16-18 layers of wood (dependent on the scale of the piano) with horizontal grain are used for the rim. Once the layers are glued together, both the inner and outer rims are pressed together, with one veneer layer on the inside and outside, into the Steinway-patented rim press. Bending the inner and outer rims together allows for the soundboard to be built into the inner rim. Once the rim has rested in the press for a full day, it is stored in a conditioning room (temperature 85 degrees Fahrenheit and relative humidity 45%) for 10-15 weeks. As the Eurea glue dries, it will begin to harden into a glass-like material. Both this glue and the hard maple wood help to block the sound, that way the sound will resonate more within the piano. More Steinway rim-bending information can be found here.

Rim Press

Rim Layers Gluing

      Iron Plate - The foundry in New York had to be relocated to comply with New York air quality laws. The plate foundry used now are made by OS Kelly. The plates arrive to the factory as gray iron and are then bronzed and lacquered.

Iron Plate

      Soundboard - The soundboard is comprised of slow-grown spruce (tall evergreen from Northwest Alaska), spruce being the most resonant wood. The diaphragmatic taper is a shape that means the greatest thickness will be in the middle. This moves more air and allows vibrations to move toward the center. Metal to wood connections are avoided in order to enhance the tone. For example, maple dowels are used instead of metal screws. The soundboard is designed to support 20,000 pounds of pressure.

Soundboard with Bridge Attached

      Bridge, Ribs - The bridge is made from vertical laminated maple, which is then coated with graphite and notched by hand. The ribs are made of sugar pine.

Bridge being Notched by Hand

Ribs 

      Braces - The braces are made by hand and molded together with wooden pegs. The purpose of the pegs is so the action won't rub a hole in the wood below.

      Accelerated Action - The hammers for the action are all different sizes, the smaller and softer heads used for the treble side. All are made by hand with natural wool fibers. There are no bindings for the hammers but the felt is pounded until the right density is achieved. The inner felt is both a different color and density than the outer. Hard maple is used for each hammer shank and animal hyde glue is used to attach the red felt.

Enlarged Model of Action

      Pinblock - The hexi-grip pinblock is made from hard rock maple angled at 45 degrees in lamination and holds the tuning pins in place.

Craftsmen Working on the Pinblock

       Strings - The strings are added by hand, three strings per nub. All strings are made of high tensile steel, but the bass strings are also wound with copper. Red damping felt is used to keep strings from vibrating in certain places.

Strings

       Keys - Again, the keys are made by a company in Germany called Kluge. In the early 1920s, it became illegal to produce ivory keys. In fact, if you have an old piano with ivory keys, it is supposed to be registered. Ivory keys were made in Ivorytown (clever) and approximately one tusk was used to make piano keys per year. Plastic keys are now made, and they apparently last longer than ivory keys anyway. Black keys are made from parawood and blackened with a toxic (which I assume is safe).

Keys made by Kluge

 
       Tone - Before the tuning, the piano is sent to a soundproof room to break in the action over the entire scale. A Steinway grand is tuned as many as 12 times before it is ready for shipping.

      Use of Robotics - Only the rough work is done using robotics, so most of the Steinway process is still done by hand. Robotics are also used to make the keybed and legs for the grand piano.

      Individuality - No two Steinway grands will sound alike due to little variances in the process and the craftsmen's personal touch.Workers are taught how to read lumber and thus, select their own materials.  All records of who made the piano, along with who and where the piano has been played, is kept in the Piano Bank.

Further Interest:

Tour Guide at Hamburg Factory

        Tours: If you would like to learn more about the Steinway & Sons history or process, I would suggest scheduling a visit to either the Hamburg or Astoria factories. This can be arranged through your local dealer, which you can find on their website        (here).







        Books: Steinway and Sons by Dr. Richard K. Lieberman
                     88 Keys: The Making of a Steinway Piano by Chapin, Miles

        Videos: Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037
                   
Resources:

        Steinway & Sons tours in Hamburg, Germany and Astoria, New York
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steinway_%26_Sons#Strings
        Steinway & Sons homepage - http://steinway.com/