HEINTZMAN & CO.

Theodore August Heintzman arrived in New York City from Berlin, Germany in 1850. He worked in various piano factories in that city before pre-Civil War unrest prompted him to move to Toronto in 1860. In 1866 he established Heintzman & Co. at 70 King St. W. Following Theodore Heintzman's death in 1899, the firm was managed by his sons, a trend that continued through much of the company's existence. Retail outlets were opened and export trade remained brisk through the early 20th century. Heintzman also manufactured pianos under the name Devonshire; and Nordheimer from 1927 to the mid 1960s. In 1978 the company relocated in Hanover, Ontario under the amended name Heintzman Ltd. Heintzman Ltd. was soon sold by the family to furniture maker, Sklar-Peppler Inc. of Hanover, Ontario, and was operated by Sklar-Peppler as a subsidiary under the Heintzman Ltd. name; it redesigned, rescaled and re-engineered both upright and grand pianos, and by 1985 750 uprights and 40-50 grands were produced annually. In 1986 The Music Stand, an Oakville-based franchise music retail chain, purchased from Sklar-Peppler (who retained the Hanover factory property) the patents and trademarks of Heintzman Ltd., as well as the remaining inventory, which it marketed. However in 1990 a Federal Court judge ruled that it could not place the Heintzman nameplate on pianos built in South Korea and the USA, which it imported for sale in Canada. Rights to the Heintzman name, and the Heintzman factory equipment were then purchased by a Chinese company and shipped to Beijing. In 2001, the pianos were again being sold in North America with the familiar Heintzman and Nordheimer names in a joint venture with the Beijing Hsinghai (or Xinghai) Piano Group operating as Beijing Heintzman - distributed in North America by the Steigerman Music Corp., based in North Vancouver, BC, Canada. In 2005 a brand new state of the art Heintzman factory was decided upon and Heintzman pianos were manufactured at the new plant located in Beijing, China. By 2006 the company became the Heintzman Piano Company Ltd. It is now a totally independent joint-venture
company owned by Chinese and Canadian shareholders. James Moffat, who was plant manager of the
Heintzman factory in Canada for 40 years, was brought on as a consultant, visiting the factory in China
throughout the year. In addition, the company makes the "Gerhard Heintzman" brand, using less expensive materials and components, intended to compete with lower-cost Chinese-made pianos.

Pianos now made by: Heintzman Piano Company, Ltd., Beijing, China
210-2106 Main Street
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V5T 3C5
604-801-5393 / 778-420-0029
www.hzmpiano.com