Monday December 30th, 2002
Awards and innovations highlight 2002 for Gibson and Baldwin
It's been a year of fresh beginnings, instrument innovations and recognition for Gibson Guitar and its newest family member, Baldwin Piano. Gibson opened its first foreign factory, introduced a high-tech digital guitar and picked up several awards for its classic, tried-and-true models. In remembrance of the events of 9/11, a hand-painted Les Paul, donated by the man himself, was auctioned on eBay in December and raised over $5,000 for the Uniformed Firefighters Association Widows and Children Fund. Baldwin made a splash this year by setting a new standard for the piano industry with its four-tiered Custom Grand program, giving consumers and dealers the tools to design highly individualized pianos.
In the kudos department, Pro Audio Review recently awarded its Best of 2002 distinction to the new Les Paul Standard and the L-200 Emmylou Harris signature model guitars. The award is based on products the staff reviewed on the www.proaudioreview.com Musician Gear online web portal throughout the year, and only eight were chosen as exemplary new products.
The new Gibson MaGIC-enabled digital guitar will receive an award in the Best of Innovations: Personal Electronics category from the Consumer Electronics Association. 
The Innovations Awards program recognizes products that exhibit excellence in design and engineering and will be presented at the 2003 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. Gibson announced its partnership with three of the most important technology companies, 3Com, AMD and Xilinx to develop the digital guitar, which debuted at the Audio Engineering Society trade show in October. The prototype uses technology from 3Com and Xilinx and the production model will eventually interface with a digital audio workstation that incorporates expertise from AMD and 3Com.
Brightly colored confetti and streamers were the order of the day when Gibson celebrated the grand opening of its first foreign factory on Saturday, Oct. 20 in the People's Republic of China. The official ceremony took place at the new Qingdao Gibson Musical Instrument Factory, located west of Qingdao city in the Shandong Province. "It is a moment of celebration, celebrating the end of great achievement and hard work, putting the factory here," said Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson chairman and CEO as he addressed the throng of onlookers. "This is the beginning of great work that will be taking place for many years, that will be growing, that will deliver music products all over the world." The new factory will produce Epiphone brand world-class guitars and related musical products using American expertise and technicians. Gibson's other brands will continue to be produced in the U.S.
In May, the Rainforest Alliance honored Juszkiewicz, for his commitment to the environment by presenting him with the 2002 Sustainable Standard Setter Award. Gibson teamed up with the Rainforest Alliance six years ago when it introduced the world's first line of eco-friendly SmartWood-certified guitars. Gibson expanded its SmartWood line in 2002 with the Smartwood Studio, which features limited runs of exotic woods in cool, eco-friendly burlap-covered cases. The Smartwood Program is the oldest and most extensive forestry certification program in the world, stamping its seal of approval on well-managed forests and wood products that ensure a balance of social, economic, and environmental factors.
Gibson's acquisition of the Baldwin Piano & Organ Company from bankruptcy in late 2001 brought the prestigious Baldwin, Wurlitzer, Chickering and Ellington brands. In April of this year, the bold move brought Man of the Year honors from The Music Trades, a leading musical instrument industry trade publication, to Juszkiewicz for his "audacity" to purchase a failing company "in a year marked by caution and retrenchment."
"With Baldwin, Juszkiewicz has promised that an unswerving commitment to 'quality, prestige and innovation' will restore the company to its former status as a market leader," The Music Trades wrote. "He deserves credit for stepping up and trying to save Baldwin from the fate of so many once renowned piano makers: becoming no more than the decal on the fallboard of the cheapest instrument available from Asia."
The Baldwin Custom Grand program, introduced in June during the summer NAMM (International Music Products Association) trade show, revolutionizes the way the traditional piano industry views piano design by offering a four-tiered program with a full range of custom options for consumers and dealers. A Beale Street Blue SF10 Artist Grand piano was created by Baldwin for the W.C. Handy Blues Awards in Memphis, while a Model L1 Custom Grand in Jubilee Red graced the stage of the Country Music Association Awards in November. The Custom Grand Program won finalist honors for the Editor's Choice Awards at the 87th Annual International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show, the premier trade event for the hospitality industry. It was distinguished in the "Best New Product" category for its innovation from more than 2,000 exhibitors displaying products and services to the industry. The IH/M&RS show took place November 9-12 in New York City and attracted over 45,000 attendees.
