KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — The Leblanc Inc. clarinet factory whose history dates back centuries in France will shut down, cutting the final 100 jobs at what once was one of Kenosha's best-known companies, its corporate owners announced Tuesday.
Conn-Selmer, Inc., a subsidiary of Steinway Musical Instruments which bought Leblanc in 2004, said production would be transferred to its woodwind factory in Elkhart, Ind., over the next 12 months.
''This very difficult decision regarding Kenosha reinforces our commitment to remain a profitable U.S. manufacturer of band instruments,'' Steinway CEO Dana Messina said in a prepared statement.
Leblanc came to Kenosha after city native and instrument repairer Vito Pascucci visited the firm and befriended Leon Leblanc while serving in the military in France during World War II. Leon Leblanc had followed his father, Georges Leblanc, in heading the company with roots going back to French instrument makers of the 1700s.
At Leblanc's invitation, Pascucci made Kenosha the U.S. base for Leblanc in 1946 and eventually bought the company.
While best known for its clarinets, the company grew to manufacture other types of band instruments, acquiring and developing factories elsewhere in Wisconsin. But that was before declines in school music programs and the introduction of inexpensive imported instruments cut into business.
The Pascucci family sold the company to Steinway for $36 million in 2004.