Piano company keyed up for future success

Aiming high

Zhang Xiaowen was not alone in trying to revive the glory of Dongbei Piano. Designer Guo joined in, as did tuner Zhang Yongqing and sound source engineer Zhou.

The four have been colleagues for more than 30 years. They used to be pacesetters in their posts and often took to the stage together to receive awards.

"In the past, we were like-minded colleagues. Now, we are like-minded partners," Zhang Xiaowen said.

On Aug 25, 2019, the first upright piano－numbered zero－rolled off the production line. It was not sold, but was kept for a planned piano museum at the company.

Guo, general manager and chief designer at Dongbei Piano, was helping the company woo the market with quality products and creative designs in both finish and function.

"Our pianos are made from the best materials from all over the world," he said. "We are aiming to produce the best pianos in China."

Zhou was one of the few people who supported Zhang Xiaowen's purchase plan from the start.

"I had deep feelings for the old Dongbei Piano and wept at its breakup," the 59-year-old production manager said. "Fame and fortune are no longer important. There is only one thing left in my life: to rebuild Dongbei Piano and make even better instruments."

Zhang Yongqing is chief tuner and manager in charge of marketing.

"The pianos we make today are the best Dongbei Piano has ever made," he said. "But it will take time to restore our brand name because we had been out of the market for more than 10 years."

To resurrect the Nordiska name and facilitate its return to the market, Dongbei Piano has been participating in top international industry exhibitions since 2019.

In May, Zhang Xiaowen had a grand piano delivered to Boston in the US for a potential customer. The sample was deemed satisfactory and brought an order for 100 pianos.

"We'll catch up as long as we own the key technology and have skilled workers," she said.

Piano manufacturing has undergone centuries of development in the West. The mature industry values the experience and skills of its workers, which explains why Zhang Xiaowen and her partners are confident about Dongbei Piano's future.

The industry has been growing in China, where some 400,000 pianos were produced last year, according to data from the China Musical Instrument Association. "I'm not worried about orders, but about the rising prices of raw materials and the shortage of skilled workers," Zhang Xiaowen said.

Although the prices of wood, iron, and copper have risen by 10 to 30 percent this year, the four-strong board refuses to use cheaper alternatives.

As a grand piano consists of nearly 20,000 parts, many of which are made by hand, Zhang has decided to establish a vocational school and train workers for the company.

Dongbei Piano occupies 260,000 square meters, equivalent to about 36 soccer pitches, which seems large enough to house her aims and dreams. "But first things first; we must survive," she said.

She has obtained a copy of the Dongbei Piano archives from 1952, and plans to keep recording. "People in the future might be interested in our story; that we did something to make a good piano," she said.

Xinhua correspondent Bai Xu contributed to this story.