@Poppo, here is Article 2:
Oldest harmonica factory: Chef presents new model for 175th anniversary
The C. A. Seydel Söhne harmonica manufactory has been in existence since 1847 - the oldest in the world. Although there would even be a double anniversary to be celebrated, a large event was deliberately avoided. However, a surprise is planned.
Klingenthal. A document issued by the court clerk of the then independent municipality of Untersachsenberg and dated October 27, 1847 is considered to be the founding document of the harmonica manufacturer C. A. Seydel Söhne. Today, after 175 years, it is the world’s oldest manufactory in this branch.
Managing director Lars Seifert says there will be no big celebration with a concert like the 170th anniversary this time. “We think that after two years of the corona pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the upcoming cost increases in the energy sector, that would be the wrong sign,” he makes clear. There should still be an internal meeting for the employees. This is also important for the cohesion of the team in the coming months.
A limited anniversary harmonica, which many fans were hoping for, is also not planned. But a special musical surprise has been announced for the company’s 175th anniversary. On October 27th, a new Seydel model will be presented in the Seydel newsletter and on the online portal. It is the result of more than a year of research and development work, in which regional partners were also involved. Seifert didn’t want to reveal any more: “The fans will have to be patient for a few more days.”
The Klingenthal manufactory currently has 33 employees. C. A. Seydel Söhne is a practice partner of the Plauen vocational academy. A student of the educational institution is specially trained for international marketing. A trainee also strengthened the team.
16 basic models form the basis of the production, in the case of customer requests, the Klingenthaler make possible what is technically feasible - and that is a lot.
Despite all the difficulties of the past few months, according to Seifert, the manufactory is in good financial shape, and with the 4th quarter, the traditionally strongest time of the year in terms of sales has only just begun with the Christmas business.
North America is at the top of the sales list. Seydel has its own branch in the USA. That was unthinkable in the days of company founder Curt August Seydel. According to the company chronicle, he drastically resisted direct contacts in the USA. It is said to have been a great moment when, after his death, the first box of instruments was sent directly from Untersachsenberg to the USA.
Japan, China and Korea are also important trading partners today, as has Indonesia recently. “Australia with its blues scene is also very important to us,” says Lars Seifert. In the so-called social networks, the Seydel harmonicas also have a large fan base in South America and India. Seifert: “In Chile alone there is a huge scene. In India, chromatic instruments are currently in demand.”
In Great Britain, after Brexit, the focus is increasingly on online trading. The contacts between the Klingenthalers and Russia, which also offered an interesting market for harmonicas, are currently on hold.
Lars Seifert and his team are already looking to 2023. In March there will be an expert workshop for the first time with Brendan Power from the USA, a musician and inventor who has been working with Seydel for a good two decades. “He will show fans of his expressive moods how to get the best out of harmonicas,” announces Seifert. The expert workshop promises musical experiences that you don’t experience every day.
The idea behind the event is to hold such a workshop every year in the future - as a special form alongside the master workshops that are offered as part of the Klingenthal Festival “Mundharmonika live”. “The project has been on the back burner for a long time. We’re looking forward to the response to the four-day event,” says Seifert. Seydel also wants to advertise at the traditional UK festival, which after Bristol is now taking place in Birmingham. However, the Klingenthalers will not be there personally, as the effort will be too great after Brexit.
Seydel Jimi Lee, who lives in Hawaii and has been to Klingenthal several times, wants to re-equip with harmonicas. The collaboration with the Englishman Will Wilde, who has developed his harmonica playing in such a way that it sounds as if he were playing hard rock on an electric guitar, is also still close. Wilde is also a Seydel endorser.
Incidentally, there is a second round number in Seydel’s 175th anniversary. In 1923, Seydel took over the harmonica company Carl Essbach and its trademark. Essbach was founded in 1872 in what is now the Klingenthal district of Brunndöbra - and would now be 150 years old.
That’s it Poppo! Thank you, I’m fine. It’s always an up and down, sometimes more, sometimes less, but I’ve known it for several decades.
Still I’m satisfied, it could be worse.
Greetings from Astrid 