PEARL RIVER/ RIVERTONE/ KAPOK

Pearl River Piano Group Co., Ltd., a musical instrument manufacturer with more than 50 years history, is the largest piano manufacturer in the world. Throughout its history, it has been designing, building and continuously perfecting fine pianos. Pearl River is the best selling piano brand in China and has been exported to more than 100 countries and regions.

“I like the Pearl River piano very much because it almost sings…and that gives me a lotof musical inspiration,” said world-famous pianist Lazer Belma. After touring in Chinaand playing the Pearl River piano in concerts several times, he understood why Pearl River takes such pride in their instruments. In fact, he autographed the piano plate with the words Be Proud of the Piano. That the Pearl River piano which is a relative newcomer to the piano world, should be recognized by a famous concert pianist, is inspiring, but not so surprising.

Let's retrace the steps of how Pearl River Piano Group grew, achieved a significantreputation among the well-respected musical instrument manufacturers of the world.

The piano has a history dating back over 300 years. The instrument was first produced inEurope. It was introduced in China, in the 19th century. The Pearl River brand wascreated in the mid 1950s as an independent Chinese musical instrument company. Itsname comes from its factory location on the banks of the Pearl River in south China.

The company began over 50 years ago when they manufactured 4 upright pianos amonth. For fifty years, the Pearl River Piano Group has grown and prosperedthanks to the hard work and dedication of generations of skilled workers. Theircommitment has resulted in Pearl River becoming not only a well-known comesticbrand, but an international best seller as well. For the last ten years, Pearl River has been the number one selling piano in China. Pearl River is now a world-famous brand with a retailer network that spans the world. Its sales account for 28% of the Chinese market, 18% of the American market and 15% of the European market.

The Pearl River factory encompasses 1.3 million square feet and stands 7 stories tall andis ? mile long. It has the capacity to build over 100, 000 pianos a year. The words,Pearl River piano-made in China signifies a great name proudly produced by the peopleof the Pearl River Piano Group. Despite strong rivals, Pearl River has risen to the top of the Chinese national piano industry. The company employs over 3,500 skilled technicians within a network of factories, foundries, lumber yards and saw mills. The90,000 square foot testing and engineering labs have 106 technicians, with many havingadvanced degrees in areas such as adhesives, metallurgy or chemistry.

Science, Technology and Innovation

Science and technology are the keys to piano manufacturing in this century. Pearl River Piano Group uses state-of-the-art science and technology, independent, innovativethinking and a commitment to the study of production, to education and to research. Amajor engineering technology research development center has been designed and builtto take the lead in the study of domestic musical instrument improvement. The goal is tospeed up new technology applications and new product development. Many of the ideas and techniques from our development center have been patented by Pearl River. By consulting with international experts in piano design and technology, Pearl River technicians validate their manufacturing techniques through every step in the production process. Taking advantage of advanced technology and information networking, Pearl River is completely redesigning traditional musical instrument production. The craftsmanship, quality, tone and playing function of Pearl River pianos have achieved European acceptance ratings by domestic and international experts. In 2007, Pearl River is focusing on brand development through a strategy based onpromoting science and technology. Emphasis is being placed on developing a high-quality piano to include all the features of other world famous pianos in the industry.

Chairman Huang has appointed Mr. Tomas, an internationally known piano maker, to head the development of a high end piano brand . Since the establishment of Pearl River Piano, the company has always found it valuble to use the services of piano design and manufacturing experts from around the world and it is seen in the pianos we manufacture today.

Outstanding Quality

Lumber accounts for 60% of the materials that make up each piano. The selection and curing of the wood plays a significant role in the quality and life span of the piano. Chinahas vast natural reserves of music-grade birch, maple, spruce and walnut…a vitalresource in the piano industry. The Pearl River Piano Group owns significant lumber production facilities. Step one in the wood preparation process is to air-dry all lumber toreduce moisture to 20%. Then the wood is moved to kilns, where sixteen mastercomputers control the precise moisture content of each load of lumber. Over 100,000CBM of lumber are processed by Pearl River each year. Using strict processingstandards, the wood used in the manufacture of Pearl River pianos is conditioned toweather environments worldwide.

Consummate Technology

The soundboard, keyboard and action are the core elements of the piano, and are both the source of sound and the structural framework of the piano. All components produced by Pearl River incorporate the advanced CNC digital technology, which ensure the accuracy and absolute precision of the all the hundreds of parts in the piano. The volume and tone of the piano depend on the quality of the soundboard. Pearl River produces each soundboard from flexible, high-quality spruce lumber. In processing and curing, the level of humidity is strictly controlled to ensure consistent tone stability.

The heart of the piano is made up of the keyboard and action, plus several thousandadditional precision components. Each component of the keyboard and action producedby Pearl River incorporate state-of-the-art technology and are manufactured according tostrict regulations to ensure exact coordination with the sensitive response of thekeyboard and action. The weight of each key is independently adjusted to maintainperfect balance and response.

Tuning and voicing

The process of computer piano tuning is a good example of the way Pearl River mergesmodern technology with tradition. This finely honed process can ensure the absolutepitch accuracy of every piano electronically. However, during the final tuning process,Pearl River often turns to traditional methods to produce a performance quality tone that actually enhances the product quality of sound. Seventy-five expert tuners work full time in the upright division alone. We developed an electronic playing device. It has the ability to test the piano by imitating the characteristics of various pianists, thus ensuring that all functioning parts perform perfectly. The result is the improved stability of the piano.

Worldwide marketing

The Pearl River Piano Group has established both a domestic and international sales organization and a product service network. Currently, there are more than 200 dealers in China as well as subsidiary companies in the United States, Europe, Macau and Beijing. We believe in providing dealers with strong sales training,attractive and effective sales aids and, strong after-sale support. We believe in giving the customer a trustworthy product that they will enjoy using and will provide years of use. These beliefs have created a high degree of customer loyalty and have been the reasons for our growthand success. Pearl River has earned popularity throughout China and is now exported toexported to more than 100 countries and regions. These facts make Pearl River not only a Chinese famousbrand, but also the export brand supported by the National Commerce Department. PearlRiver is now a worldwide brand.

Pearl River achievements

In the fifty-year history of Pearl River, we’ve done our best to perfect our product one step at a time:

· In 1997, the Pearl River Group was awarded the Certification of Quality by the International Organization of Standardization, ISO9000.

· In 1999, the Pearl River Piano Group was given the first Popular Brand in theChinese musical instrument industry.

· In 2001, the Pearl River Piano Group was ranked first in production and sales in the global piano manufacturing industry.

· In 2002, the Pearl River Piano Group became one of sixteen Chinesecorporations judged able to compete internationally.

· In 2003, the Pearl River Piano Group was awarded the honor of becoming aChinese Famous Brand Product.

· In 2004, the Pearl River Piano Group reached the honor of The NationalOutstanding Enterprise on Quality Management.

· In January 2006, the Pearl River Piano Group received The Milestone Prize distributed for the first time in its 104-year history by the International Music Product Association to a non-U.S. musical instrument company.

· In March 2006, the Pearl River Piano Group became the first Chinese piano manufacturer to produce over one million units.

· In April 2007, the Pearl River Piano Group was awarded the Certificate ofEnvironmental Management Systems by the International Organization forStandardization, ISO14000.

· In June 2007, the Pearl River Piano Group received the honor of High and NewTechnique Enterprise.

· In October 2008, the Technical Center of Pearl River Piano Group is awarded as National Technical Center by Chinese Central Government, which is unique in Chinese musical instrument industry.Technique Enterprise.

· In October 2009, the Pearl River Piano Group received the honor of National Quality Award which is the highest quality award in China. Pearl River Piano Group is the only one manufacturer in Chinese musical instrument industry who won this award.

Making the best piano in the world and becoming the world’s most successful musical instrument company shows the degree of commitment from the people of the Pearl River Piano Group.