Buffet Crampon, the makers of the Besson brand of instruments has taken over Schreiber & Keilwerth, the makers of York instruments – signalling end of the production road for the brand.

All assets

The announcement by the company stated that it had acquired '…all the assets of the German manufacturer Schreiber & Keilwerth, which had filed for insolvency in March 2010.'

It is understood that the purchase was facilitated with the help of the private equity firm Argos Soditic, which itself has a 92% shareholding in the Buffet Crampon Group.

End of York

The new Buffet Crampon Deutschland GmbH company stated that they will continue the W. Schreiber & Julius Keilwerth brands using 140 personnel at their Markneukirchen factory, although the York brand of brass instruments will be discontinued.

Buffet Crampon CEO Antoine Beaussant stated, "We are proud and happy to welcome the Schreiber & Keilwerth team in the Buffet Crampon Group. The W. Schreiber & Julius Keilwerth brands will perfectly complement the Buffet Crampon brands in some markets where we are currently not present. We expect additional 8 million Euros turnover."

The York instruments have never found their place in the brass band world and will be discontinuedPress statement

Stark reality

The stark reality of the fierce competition between top end makers in the brass instrument market place has signalled the end of the York brand – a decision that will see many individual players and a number of bands in the UK, including Black Dyke and Cory, stuck with instruments that have become obsolete.

The message in the press release summed up York’s failure: "The York instruments have never found their place in the brass band world and will be discontinued," it stated.

Clear

The insolvency administrator Tobias Hoefer was also very clear in his assessment of the sale: "The sale of the operations, the brands and the key assets to Buffet Crampon was in the end the only alternative.

"Other potential buyers had opted out at different stages in the negotiations or failed to submit acceptable offers. In view of the market development, it was very difficult to find a solution that was both viable for an investor and in the interest of our creditors. We managed just in time, otherwise we would have had to shut shop on 1 August."

Unclear

It is unclear at present what will now happen with warranties and parts for existing York instruments, whilst it is also unclear what a number of individual former York endorsees such as Black Dyke and Cory, Richard Marshall, Owen Farr, David Thornton and David Childs will now do.

Optimistic

The new owners are however, very optimistic about their prospects: "Buffet Crampon will pursue its strong development in this market through its Besson and Antoine Courtois brands, which are experiencing a period of growth, particularly in the USA and Europe."