Former Owner of Wenzel Meinl Passes Away

Buffet Crampon Germany has announced long-standing owner of the former Wenzel Meinl GmbH and former shareholder of Buffet Crampon, Gerhard A. Meinl, passed away on Feb. 26 in Geretsried, Germany. He was 68.

Meinl was a leading figure in the field of instrument manufacturing, particularly in brass instruments, through the expansion of the Melton Meinl Weston and B&S Markneukirchen brands. Seven generations of the Meinl family had shaped the manufacture of metal instruments, first in the Sudetenland and then, after 1945, in Geretsried in Upper Bavaria. Meinl, having completed his law studies and training as a metal instrument maker, took over the family business in 1984, where the Melton Meinl Weston brand tubas have always been made.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, B&S Markneukirchen moved under the umbrella of the Geretsried-based company under his leadership. In 1994, Meinl opened Europe’s most modern factory for brass instruments. Later, the brands Besson and Antoine Courtois were added. In 2012, French company Buffet Crampon purchased B&S GmbH and Gerhard A. Meinl remained a shareholder until recently.

In addition to his extensive political activities and voluntary work in numerous charitable associations and institutions, Meinl was the first chairman of the German Musical Instrument Manufacturers Association for more than a quarter of a century, founded the German Tuba Forum and was a member of the board of the

International Tuba and Euphonium Association (ITEA).

Buffet Crampon USA, based in Jacksonville, Florida, is the North American distributor of Buffet Crampon, Besson Brass, B&S, Antoine Courtois Paris, Hans Hoyer, Julius Keilwerth, Melton Meinl Weston, Parmenon, Powell Flutes Boston, Rigoutat, J. Scherzer and W. Schreiber musical instruments.

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