Heritage Guitar inked a global sales and marketing partnership with BandLab Technologies. The announcement came as Heritage Guitar joined with the community and property owner PlazaCorp to mark the centennial of guitar building at its factory at 225 Parsons St. in Kalamazoo, Mich.
“To me, 225 Parsons is one of the most significant establishments in the history of modern music,” said Meng Ru Kuok, CEO and co-founder of BandLab. “The world’s finest American-made musical instruments were, and continue to be built in this legendary factory. From the moment I saw the iconic smokestack and had a chance to see the Heritage craftsmen in action, I knew that this was something that deserved a wider audience. Heritage Guitar’s uncompromising approach to quality, as well as its commitment to their craft makes them stand out in the modern electric guitar marketplace. We are very excited to be a part of bringing Heritage into new markets and territories.”
Heritage Guitar hosted a daylong celebration of 100 years in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Sept. 9.
Added Heritage Guitar owner, Archie Leach: “Since we joined forces with the original founders two years ago, I’ve been working hard with the team to improve working conditions and increase efficiency while still maintaining traditional methods and the handcrafted beauty that Heritage Guitar is known for. To us, this is the next logical step in building a sustainable business that can hire more people and ensure the specialist knowledge of Heritage stays in Kalamazoo. We are delighted to be working with a global partner who not only can help support our global sales and marketing efforts but also loves and understands our product deeply. We want more people to know about Heritage, about 225 Parsons and about Kalamazoo and I’m confident that with Meng and his team onboard we can spread the word of Heritage even further.”
“When my cofounders and I started this company 32 years ago, we had an idea to build the best handcrafted guitars in the USA,” said Jim Deurloo, founder of Heritage Guitar. “Our guitars have been loved by guitar aficionados who heard about us through word of mouth or saw us at trade shows. I hoped that we could bring this vision to the world, and with this new partnership in place, we can continue to push awareness of our guitars and love of Heritage. Our new sales partner Meng and his team embrace our policy of quality first. They’re a perfect fit for what we are trying to accomplish, as guitar lovers and sales people, to get more people playing Heritage Guitars around the world.”