AFTER the financial blues of the COVID pandemic, the French saxophone maker favoured by American jazz greats celebrates its 100th birthday looking to expand further in Asia and the United States.
Selmer experienced two difficult years after the pandemic began in 2020, the company's executive chairman Thierry Oriez tells AFP.
"The COVID crisis affected us together with our customers" because "the world of music stopped", whether that meant shows or conservatory classes.
But now Oriez looks to the future, with sales brimming once more.
"(I'm) convinced we could do more in the United States."
Around 90 percent of sales are international, with China accounting for one-fifth of them ahead of Japan, South Korea and the United States. The company did not provide any sales figures.
While order books are full, Selmer, like many other companies, faces recruitment difficulties while COVID-19 continues to pose absenteeism problems.
The company was founded by clarinet player Henri Selmer in 1885 but produced its first saxophone in 1922.
Selmer's instruments have been played by jazz legends including John Coltrane, Stan Getz and Sonny Rollins.
- 'Musical evolution' -
The family business was sold in 2018 by its heirs to European private equity group Argos Soditic, now named Argos Wityu. A delivery subsidiary for Asia was established in 2020.
Oriez took over the business in July from Jerome Selmer, a great-grandson of Henri Selmer.
The instruments are made at a factory in Mantes-La-Ville, just west of Paris. The company also owns a laboratory that works with musicians to develop new models.
Finishing touches and assembly of Selmer's Axos series, a new collection less expensive than the company's other instruments, are completed in China. An alto saxophone costs 3,150 euros ($3,430) while a tenor is worth 4,150 euros ($4,500).
Oriez says the new collection "allows us to be more aggressive in the Chinese market".
While the Mantes-La-Ville factory has motorised precision machinery to craft some of the 700 pieces that make up each instrument, a large part of the work is still carried out by hand.
Artisans cut sheets of brass, use blowtorches to bend them into shape, mount the keys on the tube, polish the instrument and engrave Selmer's logo on it.
Engraver Morgane Duhamel spots an imperfection and adds by hand "a small engraving that will be personalised and will offer the customer a unique instrument".
Eric Bruel, who makes the saxophones' horns by turning the brass tubes on a mandrel, said the search for new tones "has an influence on the treatment of the metal: the reheating temperature with the blowtorch, it will be more or less strong, more or less long".
"Selmer has always walked the line between modernity regarding tools and the other slightly Amish side: we still do the forging, the welding and polishing by hand," Bruel said.
"In almost 30 years at the company, I've seen many changes in tools, the families of instruments, the musical evolution with young saxophone players who do not necessarily have the same sounds as their elders," he said.
ETX Studio
Tue Apr 12 2022
An employee works on polishing a saxophone piece, on January 17, 2018 at the Selmer Saxophone factory. - ETX Studio
Faisal Halim jalani pembedahan hampir empat jam
Pemain sayap skuad kebangsaan, Faisal Halim, dilaporkan semakin stabil selepas menjalani pembedahan hampir empat jam tengah malam tadi.
Penyanyi veteran Hail Amir meninggal dunia
Penyanyi veteran, Hail Amir dilaporkan meninggal dunia di Hospital Kuala Lumpur pada jam 3.40 petang, Isnin.
Kertas siasatan logo mirip kalimah Allah pada kasut diserah kepada AG
Kertas siasatan berhubung logo yang didakwa mirip kalimah Allah tertera pada tapak kasut telah diserahkan kepada Peguam Negara.
Pertumbuhan pinjaman industri perbankan 5.4 peratus seiring jangkaan bagi tahun ini
Pertumbuhan pinjaman sektor perbankan sebanyak 5.4 peratus setakat tahun ini, adalah sejajar dengan unjuran julat pertumbuhan 4.0-5.0 peratus bagi 2024.
Penunjuk perasaan kampus bertembung di Chicago
Penunjuk perasaan Pro-Palestin dan pro-Israel Universiti DePaul di Chicago, Illinois mengadakan protes serentak pada Ahad sebagai tanda sokongan mereka kepada Israel dan Palestin dalam perang di Gaza.
Israel mulakan pemindahan penduduk Palestin di Gaza
Tentera Israel mengarahkan penduduk Palestin di Rafah untuk berpindah kepada kawasan yang didakwanya sebagai 'zon kemanusiaan' pada Isnin
Latihan tentera: Simulasi pamer kekuatan, erat kerjasama AS- Filipina
Latihan tahunan itu melibatkan kira-kira 16,000 tentera Filipina dan Amerika sudah bermula bulan lalu, akan berlangsung sehingga 10 Mei.
Banjir: Penyelamat Brazil giat selamatkan penduduk terkandas
Ribuan penduduk terkandas di Rio Grande Do Sul tanpa makanan dan air bersih selepas banjir melanda dan mengorbankan sekurang-kurangnya 78 orang.
[KOLUMNIS] Perkasa kreativiti rakyat Malaysia, ayuh lawan cetak rompak digital - Altimet
Jenayah cetak rompak beri kesan amat buruk kepada industri hiburan dan media negara, dengan kerugian tahunan dilaporkan sekitar RM3 bilion dan RM500 juta dalam bentuk cukai.
Malaysia harap kerjasama ASEAN ke arah tampil kawal selia komunikasi dan multimedia lebih baik
Malaysia berharap dapat bekerjasama dengan negara anggota ASEAN yang lain untuk berusaha ke arah mengawal selia industri komunikasi dan multimedia dengan lebih baik.