 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Louis Lucchetti
Date: 2003-02-12 18:35
02/12 2:20P (DJ) DJ Fire At French Factory Destroys 1,400 Quality Clarinets
Story 6425 (I/ENT, I/REC, I/REQ, N/DJN, N/DJRT, N/CNW, N/DJWI, N/GEN...)
PARIS (AP)--A fire Wednesday destroyed a French factory that makes some of
the world's finest clarinets, causing no injuries but at least EUR1.68 million
in damage, the company's director said.
The dawn blaze at the Leblanc factory in La Couture Boussey, in the Normandy
region, incinerated 1,400 clarinets, along with the entire stock of spare
keys, said Annelies Pocovi.
"I am completely crushed, we are all trying to comfort each other," said
Pocovi, director of Leblanc France. She said the cause of the fire was unknown
but that an investigation was under way.
The French factory, which has 37 employees, was founded in 1750 under the
name Ets. D. Noblet, before being taken over by Leblanc Corp., based in
Kenosha, Wisc.
Pocovi said the extent of the damage was still unclear because the part of
the complex that survived the blaze had been contaminated by chlorine, which
is used in the making of the instruments.
She said, however, that specialized machinery was untouched and that
colleagues in Wisconsin would provide spare parts, though the company would
inevitably be unable to supply its clients on time.
"We will be able to go back to work, I just hope that it happens as quickly
as possible," she said.
Leblanc Corp. director Leon Pascucci "has given us lots of support, which is
very important for the French employees," she added.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-12-03 1420ET
Additional Codes ( M/CYC, M/NND, P/APNY, R/EC, R/EU, R/FR, R/NME, R/US,
R/WEU)
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Author: Mark Sloss
Date: 2003-02-12 18:41
Hmmmm, Buffet for sale, Leblanc burnt to the ground. Could it be a conspiracy to make Artley the premiere marque in the clarinet world?
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-02-12 19:59
...and Amati merrily continues along...
(That sound you now hear is Graham Golden's phone ringing off the hook)
Sort of reminds me of the "Little Engine That Could"...GBK
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-02-12 20:55
I think it's absurd and disgusting that you mock this situation - shame on you GBK, Ralph G and Mark. I only hope that this very fine instrument makers recovers from this disaster and continues making excellent clarinets.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-02-12 21:18
Wasn't there a similar fire in Taiwan that took out 1/3rd of the memory chip supply in the 1990's?
Hey Diz - nobody was hurt, right?
We paranoids always see a second gunman on every grassy knoll.
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-02-12 21:21
Mocking, no.
Commenting on how two of the Big 4 have had noteworthy days, yes.
Wondering if the other French maker will grab headlines... waiting...e
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Author: Marina Garrison
Date: 2003-02-12 22:38
More importantly, what is going to happen to the price of new clarinets after this? Surely they'll be in short supply for a while.
I remember after the fire (that Synonymous Botch refered to above) that memory chip prices soared.
Maybe its time to buy one before prices go up???
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Author: Ken
Date: 2003-02-12 22:48
Thank goodness no one was hurt (as reported) but don't feel TOO bad for Leblanc. The insurance company will be writing them check to recoup the loss; and if they're shrewd business people they could easily take advantage of the situation, spike the prices, create a false shortage and hose the consumer.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-02-13 00:11
Re: Fire at Leblanc
Best advice; Forget about buying that Kaspar mouthpiece. Go long, and buy calls in September grenadilla futures...GBK
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-02-13 00:27
Will losing 1,400 clarinets have that much of an impact on the market? The factory downtime will have a bigger effect than the immediate shortage. Hope the spokesperson was right about them getting back online quickly... unless I can get in with GBK on grenadilla futures.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2003-02-13 01:03
Having been through 3 fires in my lifetime that were of a serious nature, I can tell you I don't wish it on my worst enemy. There is nothing as horrible as the stench of cleaning up after a fire. The clarinets, even if some are salvaged, will always have that "fire smell" even if they are able to mask that for a short time with some sort of wood cleaner. Our house burned 14 years ago and sometimes the smell still pops up even though we totally gutted and remodeled. There was soot on everything--everything.
It makes me sick to think about. If you're looking for a Leblanc you'd better get a good one that is in stock right now. Same goes for Buffet.
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2003-02-13 02:27
We did some accounting for a company that specializes in after-fire cleanups - they use ozone somehow for neutralizing the "fire smell". A fire of that magnitude anywhere is lamentable.
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-02-13 03:07
I grew up in a trailer park (and in Texas to boot, so let the redneck jokes commence). I can remember two bad fires there, one of which killed an elderly woman. I'm familiar with the stench of a structure fire. It's awful indeed.
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2003-02-13 04:57
I think you will probably find that large makers have more instruments spread around retailers and wholesalers than they have in the factory at any given time. Unless there is a worldwide rush on Leblanc clarinets they should catch up pretty easily. They would have at least 10,000 horns sitting around in warehouses and shops.
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Author: Clarence
Date: 2003-02-13 05:01
This appears to be a Noblet factory. Surely Leblanc doesn't make all their stock in one factory.
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Author: Mark Sloss
Date: 2003-02-13 12:38
OK, diz, don't get your knickers in a twist. Word was nobody was seriously injured, and the tools and dies were not significantly damaged. File this under "sh*t happens". If you don't laugh, you cry.
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-02-13 13:01
Clarence,
I'm assuming this is the factory where Leblanc makes its top-line horns (Opus, etc). The world's supply of Vitos should be safe.@
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2003-02-13 13:05
I think there are several dealers out there who would love to have everyone rush over and buy their in-stock Leblancs.
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Author: Rick
Date: 2003-02-13 14:12
First, I apologize for re-posting this in a different thread. I missed this listing of the story.
I was a fireman for a local volunteer FD for 10 years and their fire investigator. In general, 90% of companys that have fires, never re-open, but in Leblanc's favor is that it was their factory and not their corporate HQ that burned. At this point it will depend on financing and insurance. Since Leblanc is based in the US, I would think the ability to rebuild would be quite good.
Regarding the salvage of the factory. I'm assuming that the fire was intense enough that all machinery, and jigs were effected and will need to be replaced. I think that any concerns about clarinets smelling like smoke, are misplaced since I would imagine that everything in the factory will need replacement. Machine tools that are put into fire are usually warped beyond repair. Jigs that expand in intense heat are usually not repairable either and any wood blanks would be ruined as well.
In fact, the wood blanks would be my major concern. If their supply of seasoned wood blanks was destroyed, that could take longer to replace than the machinery and physical plant.
A bit off topic but worth mentioning, the ozone treatment mentioned in my opinion is a temporary fix. Let me just say that as a former firefighter and investigator, if I have a fire in my home or office, I'll insist that the structure be gutted because the smell permeates everything and will reappear a few months after treatment. It's a favored technique with insurance companies, but I wouldn't allow it.
Other than the wood, specific tools and dies, I wouldn't imagine that there are any huge machinery issues. Things like lathes, boring machines, casting machinery for keys are all fairly common. Assuming that the drawings for any specialized tooling wasn't destroyed, they should be in recoverable shape.
If Leblanc has a disaster plan in place and assuming a best case scenario where the money is immediately available, tool and die shops can get on rebuilding jigs, the plans for which are safe and replacement machinery can be ordered quickly and construction crews can start rebuilding, then you may see clarinets being produced in 6 months, maybe less. With a plan for interim facilities, they could be up in a month or two. But if they haven't prepared and have to start planning from scratch...who knows.
All this is a guess, but it is an educated guess on having dealt with a number of large scale fires in factories. What normally kills a company is a lack of financial reserve or being under insured and having production machinery which is quite unique and which requires a long lead to to make. The other death dealing blow is a loss of company records...which shouldn't be a factor for Leblanc.
Best
Rick
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Author: zadu
Date: 2003-02-13 15:17
I wonder if there is unimployment insurance for the people who worked there. It must be hard for them today.
Even in La Couture Boussey 37 clarinet makers may not find gainful employment right away.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2003-02-13 15:37
zadu wrote:
>
> I wonder if there is unimployment insurance for the
> people who worked there
France has an unemployment compensation system in place.
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Author: Henry
Date: 2003-02-13 15:41
Yes, it must be hard for these workers but France happens to be a civilized country (in spite of some current opinions to the contrary) that provides excellent social services, including unemployment insurance.
Henry
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2003-02-13 16:20
A great loss. It's like a member of the family has been hurt. Let's hope they make it all the way back.
The story lead says the loss is 1.68 million Euros. At the exchange rate of approximately one to one with the dollar, this seems like a small loss for an entire factory building -- even one so insignificant as a maker of classical musical instruments.
The factory can be rebuilt, but at least if my insurance law experience has any applicability to French practices, there's likely to be a long fight.
On comparatavely high priced, low production, slow moving items such as top-of-the-line clarinets, the impact won't be felt immediately. Also, Leblanc has other factories, and the people who make the instruments count as much as the machinery. I'd worry more about loss of grenadilla in the multi-year seasoning process. A silver lining might be the appearance at last of a Greenline equivalent from Leblanc.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2003-02-13 21:33
Rick said "A bit off topic but worth mentioning, the ozone treatment mentioned in my opinion is a temporary fix. Let me just say that as a former firefighter and investigator, if I have a fire in my home or office, I'll insist that the structure be gutted because the smell permeates everything and will reappear a few months after treatment. It's a favored technique with insurance companies, but I wouldn't allow it."
You're absolutely right, Rick. I didn't want to argue with another Brenda, but the ozone stuff is a VERY temporary fix and the stink reappears with almost everything. We gutted and rebuilt, and rewired and ozoned all our books and other belongings--but had to buy all new furniture, etc. Some of our things were stolen by people "walking through" our house out of curiosity the next morning (it happened at 3:00 a.m. on a below zero night and made the local tv news), so we had to replace all our clothes as well. I still pick up books 14 years later that have soot inside (I have a very large library of books) and a faint odor of the fire.
I will say this for my friends who are firemen--they were terrific! One guy slid off our roof and was slightly injured because the water froze as fast as it came out of the hose, but they really went all out to take care of us. THANK God for smoke alarms and sons who hear them and get the rest of the family up and out.
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Author: Todd W.
Date: 2003-02-13 21:35
I agree with Ken that it's as though a member of the family has been hurt and that we want them to "heal" as soon as possible.
As a Leblanc fan I also like the idea of a Greenline equivalent.
And fortunately, the most important part of the process was apparently left undamaged: the Marketing department. I have a feeling that even now they are hard at work creating:
The Flame! Leblanc's hottest clarinet yet and first in our new Fireline series! The ultimate in recycling! Made from pure grenadilla ash and genuine French sourdough starter using Leblanc's patented cold fusion process. Keys are forged from only the finest recycled Champagne cork cages. And a select group of sommeliers provide hand-pulled corks that Leblanc craftsmen then lovingly carve into the all-important tenon corks. (You may specify Vouvray, Rhone, or Sauternes depending on whether you want a lighter, darker, or sweeter sound.) The Flame! Perfect for anything from "The Firebird" to those "hot" jazz licks. Endorsed by the Firehouse Five Plus Two.
Todd W. (Agreeing with Mark Sloss' last sentence.)
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