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8
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
ence, who received his early training with his
father in the Weber and Steinway factories; later
was associated with some of the leading factories
Splendidly Equipped Plant for the Construction of Starck Grand, Upright and Piayer-Pianos—
of Canada and Chicago.
Over 2,000 Instruments in Various Stages of Construction—Interesting Description of the
With the additions now in progress the Starck
Establishment, Which Reflects the Good Judgment of Mr. Starck in Selection and Equipment.
factory will have a capacity of twenty-five pianos
(Special to The Review.)
erting a pressure of one hundred tons, and which a day, an output double that possible in the old
Chicago, 111., August 1, 1910.
is capable, if worked continuously, of gluing veneer factory. It might be mentioned incidentally that
The new factory of the P. A. Starck Piano Co., stock for from thirty to thirty-five pianos a the company recently purchased 300,000 feet of
the finest mahogany veneers and 100,000 feet of
at 2512-2558 South Robey "street, this city, a bird's- day.
eye view of which is presented ri this connection,
On the second floor is the cabinet room, an in- walnut butts, all of peculiarly fine figures. Never
will rank in point of equipment and arrangement, teresting part of the equipment of which are two were Starck pianos coming through with such
among the notable plants of the great Western
large belt sanders, capable of sanding irregular as beautiful cases as at present. In fact, the same
piano manufacturing district, while its location
well as regular surfaces. On this floor also are thing is true of the interior construction as well,
possesses advantages enjoyed by few concerns.
the packing room, stock room, factory offices and as Mr. Starck's policy is one of constant improve-
The company's former factory at West Lake and the player installation department. The latter is ment of product.
Forty-ninth streets was entirely destroyed by fire one of the most important departments of the fac-
No mention of the remarkable business built up
last March, and it became necessary not only to tory, as the Starck player-pianos enjoy a splendid by Mr. Starck is complete without reference to his
secure a new factory, but to purchase and install reputation and wide sale, and provision has been son, Phil. T. Starck, the secretary and treasurer of
a complete equipment of new machinery. When made in the new plant for a steadily increasing the company. He is a wide-awake and progressive
this is borne in mind the fact that the new plant is output of these excellent instruments.
young man, thoroughly versed in all branches of
running smoothly in all departments, with ship-
The third floor accommodates the action finish- the business and is his father's right-hand bower
ments going forth regularly, and that a visitor to ing, fly finishing, regulation and polishing depart- and confidential in all that pertains to the com-
the factory to-day finds over 2,000 pianos in va- ments, the oiling off department and piano stock pany's extensive interests.
rious stages of construction, furnishes renewed
evidence of the energy and resourcefulness of P. A.
Starch, who, in a little over a decade, has risen
from the position of a traveling salesman to a place
of Vfhjence j n the ranks of Western piano manu-
facturers.
The factory is on Robey street, just south of
Blue Island avenue, and within a twenty minutes'
ride by trolley from the "Loop." The main struc-
ture is an imposing four-story brick building
125x90 feet in size, furnishing 81,000 feet of work-
ing space, exclusive of the power house and dry
kilns, which are in detached buildings.
It would be difficult to imagine a more advan-
tageous location for a piano factory. It is on the
main line of the C. B. & Q. R. R., with a private
switch running into the plant, enabling them to
unload supplies direct from the cars and to ship
direct in carloads. The plant is also close to the
main shipping depots of the "Q" and to the Mc-
Cormick station, where freight is delivered for
all the roads entering the city. The factory is also
on a slip of the great drainage canal, furnishing
the advantage of water as well as rail transporta-
tion.
Another factor of considerable importance is that
the plant is on the edge of the great lumber dis-
trict, enabling the company to secure any kind of
lumber at- any time, in an emergency, without delay.
P. A. STARCK PIANO CO.'S HANDSOME NEW MANUFACTURING QUARTERS.
The four dry kilns are of the most modern type
The excellent Starck styles which have enjoyed
and have a total capacity of 200,000 feet of lumber. room. A noticeable feature is found in six sound-
The plant is operated entirely by electricity, proof tuning rooms. The walls are eight inches such enviable popularity in the trade will be aug-
and all the smaller machines have individual mo- thick and are filled with asbestos paper and saw- mented by several new numbers in the not far dis-
tors, enabling the power to be shut off from such dust. The Review man was invited into one of tant future. Some new departures are being
worked on at the factory, which, while not ready
machines that may not be in use.
the rooms by an enthusiastic tuner, who went about
All the modern devices for insuring safety and his work absolutely undisturbed by brother tuners for publication as yet, are certain when announced
to excite wide interest among the army of Starck
convenience are in evidence, including a complete hard at work in adjoining rooms on either side.
automatic sprinkling system, the latest and most
On the fourth floor are the finishing depart- dealers.
improved blower system by which shavings, dust, ments. On one part of the floor are the stainers,
etc., are conveyed from the machines direct to the fillers and varnishers. Every piano gets from six
FOSTER=ARMSTRONG CO. OUTING.
furnaces, a private telephone system connecting to seven coats of varnish before going to the
Employes of Big East Rochester Industry and
all parts of the factory with each other, and with coarse rubbers. The drying room is capable of
Friends to Number of 1,200 Spend Enjoy-
the superintendent's office, freight elevators of
holding 800 pianos at a time. In another part of
able Day at Popular Resort
unusual size, etc.
the same floor are the coarse rubbing department
The main floor is devoted to the mill room, ve- and a large flowing room, where the last coat of
The annual outing of the employes of the Foster-
neer room and stock and back gluers. The ma- varnish is given. On this floor also are the belly-
chinery equipment is exceptionally complete, and
ing, stringing, chipping and side gluing depart- Armstrong Piano Co., East Rochester, N. Y., held
constitutes quite an exhibition of the latest types ments. This arrangement permits the entire as- recently at Island Cottage, a popular neighboring
of wood-working machinery adapted for piano fac- sembling of the piano before it leaves the floor. resort, was attended by over 1,200 people, who
tories. No expense has been spared to secure an
Throughout the plant, in fact, the arrangement is were carried to the resort on special cars. The
equipment that will enable the greatest possible such as to avoid "doubling back"—the process is outing was a great success in every way, a large
part of the day being given over to sports, which
saving in labor and reduce the cost of production continuous from beginning to end.
to the lowest possible point consistent with quality,
The factory force now consists of nearly 200 included a baseball game between the foundry men
and advantage, the benefit of which is reaped by men, and this number will be augmented as soon and the finishers, in which the latter were vic-
Starck dealers.
as the installation of additional machinery now in torious, and a number of races of various kinds.
Among machines of exceptional size and ca- progress is completed. The factory organization The different committees were heartily congratu-
pacity may be mentioned an immense forty-foot is in charge of Superintendent C. H. Bartholomee, lated upon the success of their efforts in making the
joiner and a remarkable hydraulic veneer press, ex- a thoroughly competent man of years of experi- plans for the day.
NEW FACTORY OF THE P. A. STARCK PIANO CO.
THE AUTO-PNEUMATIC
SIMPLE
DURABLE
NON-TROUBLESOME
ACTION
IS THE BEST PLAYER-PIANO MECHANISM MADE
AUTO PNEUMATIC ACTION CO.
W. J. KEELEY, President
615 West 50th Street, NEW YORK CITY
USED IN OVER 90 OF THE
HIGHEST GRADE
PLAYER-PIANOS