Family-run organ building workshop: new construction, restoration and maintenance of organs with an in-house foundry for organ pipe metal
Weimbs Orgelbau GmbH
Hellenthal (Eifel), GermanyNew on Amplifa
About Weimbs Orgelbau
Weimbs Orgelbau GmbH is an organ building workshop founded in 1927 by Josef Weimbs senior in Hellenthal (Eifel), today run in the fourth generation by master organ builders Friedbert and Frank Weimbs. The company sees itself as the de facto successor to the workshop Gebrüder Müller founded in 1802 in Reifferscheid, where Josef Weimbs senior completed his apprenticeship. The company builds new organs including cases, mechanical slider chests (tracker systems), modern freely programmable action systems and reconstructions of organ electrics; in addition, organs and harmoniums of all systems are restored, converted, cleaned, maintained and tuned, including mould remediation and case work during church renovations. Production includes a joinery with partly computer-controlled machinery, a pipe workshop with voicing and scaling, and since 1998 an in-house foundry for organ pipe metal; up-to-date hardware and software are available for design and visualisation. The company's instruments can be found, among other places, in Cologne (St. Gereon), in the Basilica of Kloster Steinfeld, in Oslo, Piacenza, Stockholm and Dubrovnik; the company has also realised projects in Norway, Italy, Sweden, Croatia and Japan.
- Site
- Hellenthal, Eifel
- Processes
- Organ building (new construction: design, visualisation, construction and building), Restoration of organs and harmoniums of all systems, Reorganisation and conversion of organs to extend sound and technology, Tracker systems (mechanical action, e.g. organ Zülpich St. Peter), Reconstruction of organ electrics (renewal/renovation of outdated organ electrical systems), Modern action systems – freely programmable couplers and mixtures, Mould remediation in organs (consultation and inspection), Cleaning and general renovation of organs of all systems
- Materials
- Wood, Organ pipe metal, Organ pipe metal (tin-lead alloy)
- Founded
- 1927
- Industries
- Organ building, Churches, Sacred architecture, Heritage conservation
- 01
Design and visualisation (CAD)
- 02
Metal casting of pipes (in-house foundry)
- 03
Joinery (cases, windchests)
- 04
Pipe workshop: scaling and voicing
- 05
Action and electrical construction
- 06
On-site installation, tuning and maintenance
Materials and Processes
Wood
Material for cases, windchests and joinery work, produced on partly computer-controlled machinery.
Organ pipe metal (tin-lead alloy)
Pipe metal cast in the in-house foundry since 1998, used in the pipe workshop.
Locations
Hellenthal
DEWorkshop, foundry and headquarters
- Lot size
- One-off production (unique pieces)
- Materials
- Wood, organ pipe metal
- Computer-controlled machines in the joinery
- Metal casting facility (foundry)
- Hardware and software for organ design
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organ building (new construction: design, visualisation, construction and building)Assembly | – | – | – | – | Wood, Metal (organ pipes) |
| Restoration of organs and harmoniums of all systemsAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Reorganisation and conversion of organs to extend sound and technologyAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Tracker systems (mechanical action, e.g. organ Zülpich St. Peter)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Reconstruction of organ electrics (renewal/renovation of outdated organ electrical systems)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Modern action systems – freely programmable couplers and mixturesEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Mould remediation in organs (consultation and inspection)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cleaning and general renovation of organs of all systemsAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Maintenance and tuning of organs of all systemsTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Pipe workshop with voicing and pipe scaling (voicing in the workshop)Engineering | – | – | – | – | Metal, Wood |
| In-house metal casting operation (foundry for organ pipe metal)Casting | – | – | – | – | Tin-lead alloy (organ pipe metal) |
| Joinery with modern, partly computer-controlled machineryMachining | – | – | – | – | Wood |
| Consultation and execution of enclosures (cases) during church renovationsAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Planning and design of organs including CAD software (hardware and software for design)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
3 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer-controlled machines in the joinery (CNC, partly computer-controlled machinery) | – | – | – | – | Hellenthal, Eifel |
| Metal casting facility (in-house foundry for pipe metal) | – | – | – | – | Hellenthal, Eifel |
| Hardware and software for organ design (planning system) | – | – | – | – | Hellenthal, Eifel |
Additional services
Reference customers
Company History
- 1537
Earliest verified evidence of organ building in the Eifel: Peter Briesger from Koblenz renews the organ of the parish church of Mayen
- 1711
Balthasar König settles as an organ builder in Bad Münstereifel; in 1735 he moves to Cologne
- 1802
Founding of the organ building workshop Gebrüder Müller in Reifferscheid, predecessor company
- 1900
Josef Weimbs senior completes his apprenticeship with Müller in Reifferscheid until 1905
- 1927
Josef Weimbs senior founds his own workshop in Hellenthal
- 1951
Josef Weimbs junior takes over the company
- 1957
Josef Weimbs junior passes the master craftsman examination
- 1973
Friedbert Weimbs obtains the master craftsman's certificate and joins his father's business
- 1998
Frank Weimbs returns to the company after completing his master's training; new workshop building and in-house foundry
- 2000
Visit of the then Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Dr. Jürgen Rüttgers, to the workshop