HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — An Ovation guitar factory in the
western Connecticut hills that produced instruments for music legends
from Paul Simon to Cat Stevens to Glen Campbell will be closing in June
after 47 years and production of the Ovation line in the United States
will stop, the manufacturer’s parent company told the shop’s 46 workers
this week.
One former factory worker called it "the end of an iconic American brand."
Fender
Musical Instruments Corp., based in Scottsdale, Ariz., and maker of the
iconic Stratocaster electric guitar, said in an announcement Tuesday
that it was ceasing domestic production of Ovation guitars and closing
the New Hartford factory, citing "current market conditions and
insufficient volume levels." The company also said it is consolidating
production of U.S.-made acoustic instruments.
Ovations will
continue to be manufactured outside the U.S., Fender spokesman Jason
Farrell said Wednesday. He said Fender also builds Ovations in China,
South Korea and Indonesia.
"We are committed to providing the same
high quality musical instruments our artists, consumers and customers
expect and demand, and will continue to support the brands that are
currently being produced in New Hartford," Richard McDonald, senior vice
president of Fender, said in a statement.
The factory also has
been making Fender and Guild guitars since Fender bought Ovation’s
owner, Bloomfield, Conn.-based Kaman Music Corp., in 2007. The shop
opened in 1967 after Charles Kaman, an engineer who founded
Bloomfield-based aerospace company Kaman Corp., developed the first
Ovation guitar. Kaman died in 2011.
The factory closing was first reported by the Republican-American newspaper of Waterbury, Conn.
Richard
Hall of Winsted, who worked for Kaman and Ovation for three decades
including 18 years at the New Hartford plant, told the newspaper that
Ovation made the first acoustic guitar that could be plugged in to an
amplifier and the company had 66 percent of the acoustic market in the
U.S. in the early 1990s.
"It’s the end of an iconic American
brand," Hall said. "In the 1970s and ’80s, just about every big touring
band was playing Ovation."
Ovations made in New Hartford have been
praised for their craftsmanship and tone. The company’s website shows
pictures of many music legends playing Ovations, including Simon,
Campbell, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Eddie Van Halen,
Kenny Rogers, Neil Diamond and Melissa Etheridge.
A worker at the
shop referred questions Wednesday to an official at Fender subsidiary
KMC Music Inc., who didn’t return a message seeking comment.
Fender
officials say the factory closing will affect all 46 workers, who will
get severance packages, outplacement services and other assistance.
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Information from: Republican-American, http://www.rep-am.com
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