Pearl River (company)

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Pearl River is a piano company started in 1956 in Guangzhou, China, and lays claim to the largest piano factory in the world.^[1] Pearl River is also the fastest growing company in the United States and Canada with over 300 dealers and growing.^[1]

Contents 1 Production/Materials 2 Awards 2.1 International Organisation for Standardisation ISO 9001 Certification 3 The Yamaha Connection 3.1 Controversy 4 References

[edit] Production/Materials

Pearl River has the ability to produce over 100,000 pianos a year, while exporting them to over 60 countries.^[1]

[edit] Awards

[edit] International Organisation for Standardisation ISO 9001 Certification

Pearl River Pianos claim to have been awarded for its complete line of grand and vertical pianos, including all parts and components. ISO 9001 Certification is awarded by an independent auditing organization following a lengthy audit of quality systems ranging from the procurement of raw materials to manufacturing systems, assembly procedures, and customer service. Pearl River is the first piano company in China to receive this independent certification of quality.^[1]. This ISO certification says nothing about the quality of their pianos when compared to the market leading concert grand manufacturers, such as Steinway & Sons and Bösendorfer pianos.

[edit] The Yamaha Connection

Yamaha formed a joint venture with Pearl River in 1995 to establish a factory to build pianos for the Chinese market. This factory is located east of Guangzhou in an 'economic development zone,' approximately 35 miles from the Pearl River factory

[edit] Controversy

Many Pearl River dealers began hyping this connection, and it is rumored that Pearl River pianos actually began showing up with "Made by Yamaha" stickers on their furniture. The source of this rumor comes from the fact that one Pearl River model (the UP125) is assembled in the factory. No other Pearl River pianos are made in this factory. The sticker on this piano merely signifies that the piano was assembled in the same factory. Pearl River pianos have never been designed by Yamaha, nor does Yamaha supply any parts or assemblies for any Pearl River pianos, including the above mentioned model. There is no such brand name as Yamaha/Pearl River or Pearl River/Yamaha, and Yamaha does not warrant, support, or service any pianos with the Pearl River brand name regardless of where the piano was built. However, many Pearl River dealers still mislead potential purchasers of the instruments by speaking of this tenuous connection.

[edit] References